Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s previous claims of Native American ancestry came back to haunt her again on Friday when she was told she sounds like the “original Rachel Dolezal” — “the white woman who pretended to be black.”
During an appearance on “The Breakfast Club,” which has become a must-stop for the field of 2020 Democratic presidential contenders, the hosts grilled Ms. Warren on why she identified as Native American heritage on her Texas bar registration card and at Harvard, and whether she gained anything from it.
Ms. Warren said it was a mistake and again apologized, explaining that she believed the family stories that were passed down from her parents and extended family.
And she said a Boston Globe report found she didn’t benefit from her previous claims in school or when it came to her professional life.
“Nothing about my family ever affected any job I ever got,” the senator said.
Charlamagne Tha God, one of the hosts, interjected, “You sound like the original Rachel Dolezal, a little bit.”
“Rachel Dolezal was a white woman pretending to be black,” he said.
Ms. Dolezal made headlines in 2015 when she resigned as president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People chapter in Spokane, Washington, after her white parents came out to say she was falsely claiming to be black.
Before stepping down, she had alleged to be the victim of a race-related hate crime.
Ms. Warren responded, “Well, this is what I learned from my family.”
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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