From the video, the NAACP president Rachel Dolezal is interrogated about her race and involvement with the movement. There are evident issues relating to diversity and bad leadership. Dolezal has been deceptive about her race, culture, and ethnicity, thus raising the issue of diversity. While pursuing her undergraduate degree, she had sued her university for being discriminated against because she was white, thus affirming her race (NBC News, 2015). Unfortunately, with time she has gone to numerous lengths to make herself appear like a Black American woman. Yet, everything about her, including her birth certificate, shows her to be a Caucasian woman. In the video, she claims to be black and even gives her reasons for being black, although she affirms that she understands why it can be seen as being misleading (NBC News, 2015). In terms of bad leadership, her deception makes her a bad leader as she has displayed characters not associated with good leadership. She culturally appropriated the black community and refused to be honest about it. She also lacked integrity and violated the existing moral standards (NBC News, 2015). Moreover, she refused to accept her mistake that she deceived people, thus being a bad role model.
The leader does not overcome the issues she was facing due to her deception. Many people feel deceived and angered by her actions as she took opportunities from African American women by misleading everyone to believe that she was black (NBC News, 2015). Looking at her situation, she is not an effective leader, as evident in her practices. She lacks the integrity needed for effective leadership as she was not honest about her race. During the interview, she is asked numerous questions that would give her a chance to speak out and even apologize for her actions. Still, she is adamant about her race, making her an ineffective leader who cannot be transparent (NBC News, 2015). She has questionable ethical and moral character because her actions show how she uses race as a tool to advance herself. Dolezal is seen to choose which race best suits her needs be it her career or in education, even after being aware of the plight of colored people. (NBC News, 2015) She refuses to concede that her actions were deceptive by saying nothing about being white that describes who she is.
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After watching the video, there are evident issues with the type of leadership that Dolezal exhibits. The leadership situation shows an individual in a position of power and influence who is not transparent nor ethical in her behavior. She is not a trustworthy leader as she had been deceiving everyone about her race. She tries to explain herself by speaking her truth, where she goes to the extent of denying fundamental truths such as her birth certificate (NBC News, 2015). Even when pictures of her as a young person show her as a Caucasian woman, Dolezal is adamant about her race. Throughout the video, it was evident that she cared about the movement’s mission and was interested in furthering its vision. Unfortunately, by progressively changing her appearance to mimic the stereotypical African American features and not correcting people who thought she was black, she acted like a bad role model, thus exhibiting bad leadership.
After watching the video, there are some key points that the leader should look into. As a leader, one should be keen on the type of image they portray to their followers. First, she needs to apologize to the black Americans for culturally appropriating the community. This is an important step as it helps her showcase her remorse for her actions while also showing that she can take responsibility and be answerable to her actions. She should then take part in sensitizing people on the ethical issues about cultural appropriation as she has picked the interest of many people across the world. I believe that these actions will help her overcome the newfound notoriety and restore her image in the long run.
Reference
NBC News. (2015). Rachel Dolezal: ‘Nothing About Being White Describes Who I Am.’ www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/video/rachel-dolezal-nothing-about-being-white-describes-who-i-am-465644099755
