Rachel Dolezal Documentary On Netflix Doesn't Sit Right With People
Netflix is going to air Rachel Dolezal's documentary soon, but clearly, people aren't at all pleased, to say the least, with it.
The streamer's announcements of new shows are usually lauded, but people are infuriated over their newest documentary, named The Rachel Divide, that will start streaming on April 27. Their reasons can be summed up as that Dolezal's story should not have been unearthed, and such a powerful platform could have chosen a truthful story to delve deeper on.
Rising To Fame
For those who do not know Dolezal, she made headlines in 2015, after being exposed that she was not biologically a black woman which she had long claimed to be. This was announced by her parents, and which had launched a media frenzy.
The 40-year-old was then a higher official of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and was an activist. Dolezal claimed she experienced a lot of hate crimes, though police did not found evidence to support her statements.
Because of the revelations, she was fired from the association and the controversy claimed her job as an instructor at the Eastern Washington University. Months after her exposition, Dolezal admitted in an interview that she was biologically white, though she identified herself as black. In 2016, she changed her name to Nkechi Amare Diallo.
Now that years had passed by and media's attention shifted into bigger issues, Dolezal is here again to shed spotlight on her story, no thanks to Netflix. In a more than 2-minute trailer, she was seen conversing with her son, seemingly arguing over something.
Apparently, Dolezal's son, Franklin, was not comfortable about reigniting the fire that died down, read: a documentary that would resurface everything. The boy's gestures and facial reactions said it all, that he was troubled about the renewed attention that would be given to him, his mother, and the entire family.
"The more that I hear about it, the more that I talk to people about it, the more it just drains me," Franklin said.
Sympathy
Of course it should be noted that the storytelling of Dolezal's life would include the family. Social media users sympathized with the kid, slamming Netflix for having to bring the story out in the open again.
The Stranger's Ijeoma Oluo, who wrote about the issue last year, expressed disappointment over the documentary. She added the "harmful" story should not have been dragged.
"Even more upset at how the pain of her teenage son seems to be put on display," she wrote.
Actress Patricia Arquette also took to social media to weigh in on the issue after witnessing the clip herself. She encouraged people to leave the children alone, as it was plain as day they have suffered enough already.
Meanwhile, other users are just plain mad at Netflix and encouraged others to boycott the streamer.
