Rachel Dolezal, the white woman who for years infamously posed as black, joined Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) last week for the signing of an executive order that prohibits race-based hair discrimination.
Commonly known as the CROWN Act, or Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural hair, Hobbs’ executive order mimics a law that failed to pass through Congress last year and prohibits “race-based hair discrimination for state employees and contractors.”
“Black women, men, and children should be able to wear their natural hair with pride and without the fear of discrimination,” Hobbs said about the executive order.
However, Hobbs’ executive action was outshined by an appearance from Dolezal. Dolezal, who now goes by the name Nkechi Amare Diallo, resigned from her post as the Spokane NAACP president in 2015 after her parents revealed she is white and spent years pretending to be black.
Some other attendees present for Hobbs’ signing included representatives from the Black Mother’s Forum, the Phoenix chapter of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, and the African American Museum of Southern Arizona.
African American Museum of Southern Arizona board member and spokesperson Bob Elliot invited Dolezal to attend Hobbs’ signing, but “they only knew her as a volunteer named Nkechi,” Axios reported.
Dolezal reportedly avoided scrutiny from Hobbs’ team due to the use of her new name, Nkechi, which is a West African name that means “gift of God.”
Dolezal uploaded photos of herself and other attendees last week. Although Hobbs’ absence from the group photo Dolezal uploaded led some to suspect she was not at the event, a spokesperson from Hobbs’ office confirmed Dolezal’s attendance.
As Axios reported:
Hobbs spokesperson Josselyn Berry tells Axios Phoenix the administration invited advocacy organizations from across the state and says she believes Dolezal was there because she was volunteering for one of those groups under a different name.
“We should not allow a person who is known for misrepresenting herself take away from the work that went into this historic action,” Berry says.
The group photo Hobbs uploaded from the signing did not include Dolezal. However, progressive activist Chris Love said Dolezal’s attendance “did put a damper on what should’ve been a positive day.”
Jordan Dixon-Hamilton is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at jdixonhamilton@breitbart.com or follow him on Twitter.
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