Rachel Dolezal 2.0: Meet Jessica Krug, The White Woman Assuming A Black Identity

Her name is Jessica Krug — she’s a white Jewish woman from the suburbs of Kansas City. But, up until today, she was living her life as a Black Caribbean. Yes, it’s Rachel Dolezal all over again.

Krug is an associate professor of history and Africana Studies at George Washington University. She is listed as a “historian of politics, ideas, and cultural practices in Africa and the African Diaspora, with a particular interest in West Central Africa and maroon societies in the early modern period and Black transnational cultural studies,” this accrding to GWU’s website.

Krug also authored the book Fugitive Modernities: Kisama and the Politics of Freedom (Duke University Press, 2018), and was a finalist for both the Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass book prizes in 2019.

While all these things may be true, her real identity has always been a lie. Krug finally came cleaned today in an article written for, The Atlantic. In part it stated:

“To an escalating degree over my adult life, I have eschewed my lived experience as a white Jewish child in suburban Kansas City under various assumed identities within a Blackness that I had no right to claim: first North African Blackness, then US rooted Blackness, then Caribbean rooted Bronx Blackness. I have not only claimed these identities as my own when I had absolutely no right to do so — when doing so is the very epitome of violence, of thievery and appropriation, of the myriad ways in which non-Black people continue to use and abuse Black identities and cultures — but I have formed intimate relationships with loving, compassionate people who have trusted and cared for me when I have deserved neither trust nor caring. People have fought together with me and have fought for me, and my continued appropriation of a Black Caribbean identity is not only, in the starkest terms, wrong — unethical, immoral, anti-Black, colonial — but it means that every step I’ve taken has gaslighted those whom I love.”

In the article Jessica went on to discuss her past mental health issue, being careful to not use them as an excuse. She also apologized, while recognizing that forgiveness may never be given to her. Of course, Twitter had a filed day with this one…

Rachel Dolezal has been “Aunt Viv”d in the “pretending to be black” finesse hustle by Jessica Krug pic.twitter.com/h0inzXSUQo

— Kev Rich (@kevantrich) September 3, 2020

White people? It's ok to study Black history or African history and be white. You can even get degrees and be a professor and be white.

Stop with the Jessica Krug nonsense for crying out loud.

— Imani Gandy ☄️🌏🔥 (@AngryBlackLady) September 3, 2020

When Jessica Krug gets her book deal and is on the talk show circuit, remember this tweet. White women continually harm our communities and are rewarded for their efforts.

— Leslie Mac (@LeslieMac) September 3, 2020

So…this is bizarre. My heart goes out to any Black person who invited Jessica Krug into their sacred space under the assumption that she was Black too.

But why is she posting this now? Did someone threaten to blow her cover?

I have a lot of questions but I have a headache.

— Morgan Jerkins (@MorganJerkins) September 3, 2020

jessica krug's old author bio is, uh, something else pic.twitter.com/YMKW8eHiI0

— graham starr (@GrahamStarr) September 3, 2020

Many are asking why did Jessica finally decided to blow the whistle on herself. Well, this thread offers a possible reason why…

The only reason Jessica Krug finally admitted to this lie is bec on Aug 26th one very brave very BLACK Latina junior scholar approached two senior Black Latina scholars & trusted them enough to do the research & back her up. Those two scholars made phone calls & reached out to…

— Dr. YoFiggy (@DrYoFiggy) September 3, 2020