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Duke University Press
An American academic whose work focuses on Africa and the African diaspora has said she lied about being black.
Jessica Krug, an associate professor at George Washington University, admitted that she was actually a white Jewish woman from Kansas City.
“I have built my life on a violent anti-black lie, and I have lied with every breath I have taken,” she wrote.
Her case has strong parallels with Rachel Dolezal, a white activist who claimed to be black.
Dolezal first made headlines in 2015 when her parents denounced her as white.
The former civil rights activist and African studies instructor had maintained the pretense of being African American for years, but said she “identified as black.”
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In a Medium post published Thursday, Jessica Krug said she had falsely assumed identities “that I had no right to claim: first North African blackness, then American-origin blackness, then Caribbean-born Bronx blackness.”
She described this behavior as “the epitome of violence, of stealing and appropriation, of the myriad ways non-black people continue to use and abuse black identities and cultures,” adding that she had continued the pretense even in your personal relationships. .
She blamed her lies on mental health issues and the trauma she experienced in her early years, although she said this was not an excuse for her actions.
Ms Krug’s post did not give a reason for her decision to admit her cheating, nor its timing. However, screenwriter Hari Ziyad said her admission came “because she was discovered”.
“Jess Krug … is someone I called as a friend until this morning when she called me admitting everything written here. She did not do it out of benevolence,” she wrote on Twitter.
According to media reports, Ms. Krug also used the name Jessica La Bombalera as an activist.
In a video posted earlier this year, he berated white New Yorkers for not “giving their time to indigenous black and brown New Yorkers.”
George Washington University, where Ms Krug teaches courses on the history of Africa, the Caribbean and the diaspora, has said it is “aware” of Ms Krug’s post on Medium, but could not comment further on it. case.
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