A Quaker group referred to as the American Associates Service Committee is going through a shockwave of allegations and social media backlash after a girl inside the org has been outed for apparently LYING about her ethnic background! WTF?!
Bear in mind Rachel Dolezal, y’all? (How may anybody overlook?) Properly, this new story is a few girl folks on social media are calling Raquel Dolezal — as a result of she looks like a repeat of the ex-NAACP activist. Solely… possibly worse??
Right here we go…
Associated: Florida Preschool Put 2-12 months-Olds In Blackface For Black Historical past Month!
So, all this primary bubbled up late Thursday evening when the Intercept revealed a report a few girl named Raquel Evita Saraswati. She was mentioned to be a Muslim activist working with the AFSC who — for years — claimed to be a girl of colour with Latina, South Asian, and Arab ancestors. That’s her within the pic (above), being interviewed on Fox Information.
She rose excessive within the AFSC’s ranks, too. Presently, she is the group’s chief fairness, inclusion, and tradition officer. That may be a “senior place that offers her entry to the recordsdata of dozens of the group’s workers and volunteers,” per the outlet’s reporting.
However in response to the information org, it’s all a fraud: “Raquel” was truly born Rachel Elizabeth Seidel, and he or she is NOT an individual of colour. That bombshell isn’t only a random allegation, both, however a direct declare from anyone who is aware of her one of the best: Rachel’s personal mom, Carol Perone!!
Perone spoke to the Intercept by telephone for his or her surprising report. The miffed momma knowledgeable them her entire household “is of British, German, and Italian descent.” Really telling it like it’s, Carol mentioned:
“I’m as white because the pushed snow and so is she. … I’m German and British, and her father was Calabrese Italian.”
Yeah… fairly removed from no matter she’s presenting to the world. We imply… Simply look! Momma isn’t pulling any punches both, saying:
“She’s chosen to stay a lie, and I discover that very, very unhappy.”
DAMN!
The activist’s pissed off mother clearly sounded confused about why her daughter Rachel would select to barely alter her identify to Raquel, too:
“I name her Rachel. I don’t know why she’s doing what she’s doing.”
The identify change is definitely unusual. (Simply ask Hilaria Baldwin about that…) And going from Rachel to Raquel may not even be the strangest half! As shocked social media customers have been mentioning on Friday, Raquel’s chosen final identify, Saraswati, is that of a serious Hindu goddess. That’s fairly an, um, fascinating alternative for a Muslim activist… proper? Looks like she pulled from a little bit of every part for her new persona.
Associated: Bear in mind When Hilaria Baldwin Pretended To Be A POC To Educate Daughter About Racism?
However past the identify, Perone got here with the receipts. She produced for the Intercept her Ancestry.com profile, which proved the British, German, and Italian heritage. Carol additionally shared personal images of Saraswati’s late organic father, who’s white.
And Carol additionally shared pics of Saraswati as a toddler. She requested the outlet to not publish these snaps, however the information org does report Saraswati’s “complexion is considerably lighter than the bronzed look in newer pictures.” Like Dolezal, she appears to have achieved some degree of tanning to pretend her ethnicity. The outlet additionally reviews one other member of the family, who requested to stay nameless, additionally confirmed “Saraswati” is white.
Hmmm…
Perone did say her daughter transformed to Islam in highschool. Which is ok! You’re allowed to do this! The issue right here isn’t that she’s faking being a Muslim, however that she’s allegedly faking every part else! And the misrepresentation of her ethnic background is particularly egregious as a result of it might be for greater than a weird private perception that she “identifies” as an individual of colour. It could be for private {and professional} acquire — and he or she would possibly even be utilizing it to betray her group!
See, Saraswati received her present place with the AFSC after making use of for the job through a Quaker search committee who was trying to rent a variety, fairness, and inclusion officer. Oskar Pierre Castro is a human sources professional who labored on that search committee and recollects Saraswati telling them she was a “queer, Muslim, multiethnic girl.” Castro, who mentioned he was initially impressed by Saraswati’s “credentials and appeal” along with her background, mentioned:
“It actually touched all of the factors. It appeared that there was a component of lived expertise and understanding due to the lived expertise, not simply the tutorial and further coaching that include being able the place you’re an fairness and inclusion practitioner. … In my thoughts it was, ‘nice, an individual of colour, a queer individual of colour, who occurs to be a Muslim, it’s a girl, all this stuff, and somebody who appeared to get it. I undoubtedly really feel conned. … I really feel deceived.”
Yeah, no kidding.
The Intercept famous Saraswati didn’t reply to a number of requests for remark “despatched to her by electronic mail, telephone, and on social media.” Nevertheless, the AFSC did launch a press release which revealed Raquel “stands by her identification” even despite this reporting. Um… wow!
Layne Mullett, a spokesperson for the AFSC, said to the information org:
“We’re in receipt of the documentation alleging that our Chief Fairness, Inclusion, and Tradition Officer, Raquel Saraswati, has been misrepresenting her identification. AFSC has given Raquel the chance to handle the allegations towards her, and Raquel stands by her identification. Raquel additionally assures us that she stays loyal to AFSC’s mission, which we firmly imagine. AFSC doesn’t require any worker to ‘show’ their heritage as a situation of their employment, or with a view to be valued as a member of our staff.”
Standing by her. Wow! And the truth that she stands by her personal identification in mild of all this. DOUBLE wow!! However what about that betrayal we talked about? Which will show to be way more important — because the Intercept notes she might have “a potential hidden political agenda.” WHAT??
The AFSC might state outwardly that they formally imagine Raquel’s intentions, that they’re standing by her dedication to their group. However in response to the outlet, an unidentified group of AFSC members posted an nameless letter to Medium that identified Saraswati made media appearances instantly after the September 11, 2011 terror assaults “in conservative and Islamophobic areas, together with right-wing TV exhibits, the place she was offered as a ‘average’ Muslim essential of Islamic extremism.” AFSC members are involved she was doing so to strike out towards different Muslims, figuring out right-wing audiences would view them as extra “radical” in flip. The outlet reviews these appearances included stints on Glenn Beck‘s CNN present, a number of Fox Information exhibits, and even happening far-right packages on Newsmax. Man, she has been doing this a very long time…
And the loopy a part of that facet of this story is that lots of these weird media appearances at the moment are simply… gone?? Because the information org notes, Saraswati has refused to handle any of that previous work within the final twenty years, and “a lot of it seems to have been scrubbed from the web.” Like possibly the packages smelled one thing was up and deleted them? Hmm. Among the previous appearances you’ll be able to nonetheless discover posted on YouTube, nevertheless. Right here she is on NewsMax talking out towards “radical Muslims.” Kinda takes a special tone when you think about it is a WHITE WOMAN allegedly pretending to be Arab saying all this, doesn’t it?
In the meantime, in that aforementioned Medium letter, AFSC members essential of Saraswati’s state of affairs demanded that she step down from her position inside the group.
“We hope that this may catalyze additional truth-telling and accountability.”
In a subsequent interview with the Intercept, an unnamed AFSC member added:
“Persons are involved. There’s a concern that she might be an agent, as a result of she began her profession right-wing. She was a token Muslim voice in that milieu. She by no means publicly apologized.”
This isn’t simply an ethnicity difficulty for involved AFSC members, both. That group has been infiltrated by the FBI and even some right-wing organizations earlier than due to their views on Palestine, in response to the chief who spoke to the Intercept. And in 2021, one other Muslim civil rights group — the Council on American-Islamic Relations — was infamously rocked by scandal after their govt and authorized director was discovered to be a covert anti-Muslim operative reporting again delicate data on Islam in America to the right-wing Investigative Undertaking on Terrorism.
The nameless AFSC member added:
“Think about the trauma of people that confided in her, trusted her, and shared delicate details about their work and about their lives, pondering that she’s a fellow individual of colour. And now swiftly, it’s a white girl with a right-wing historical past. It’s scary.”
Jeez! What a possible conspiracy. The ethnicity stuff is wild sufficient, however that took a darkish flip on the finish. So unsettling!! Might she actually be a right-wing spy??
You possibly can learn the Intercept‘s full report HERE, and you’ll view that full Medium open letter HERE.
Reactions, Perezcious readers?
[Image via Fox News/YouTube.]