holds her Master’s degree from Howard University and is a professor in the Africana Studies Program at Eastern Washington University. Doležal has taught African and African American Art History, African History, African American Culture, The Black Woman’s Struggle, and Intro to Africana Studies at EWU. Her scholarly research focuses on the intersection of race, gender and class in the contemporary Diaspora with a specific emphasis on Black women in visual culture. Her passion for civil rights is influenced by her years in Mississippi, where she advocated for equal rights and participated in community development. She is the former Director of Education at the Human Rights Education Institute, a licensed Diversity Trainer and a Consultant for human rights education and inclusivity in regional schools. During her experience as the Director for the Human Rights Education Institute, Doležal developed programs and curriculum that expanded the annual audience from 3,000 per year to 23,000 per year. She created world-class exhibits, coordinated cultural events, scheduled keynote speakers, organized panel discussions and began the Young Advocates for Human Rights summer training program. Her efforts were met with opposition by North Idaho white supremacy groups, including the Ku Klux Klan, the Neo Nazis and the Aryan Nations, and at least eight documented hate crimes targeted Doležal and her children during her residency in North Idaho.
In addition to her role as an educator, Doležal has fourteen years of experience as an exhibiting artist and has taught K-12 & college art lessons in public, private, and non-traditional school settings. Her works have been featured in The Artist’s Magazine, shown in 13 states and displayed at the United Nations’ Headquarters in New York. Doležal began teaching private & group art lessons in 1994 and synthesizes art history, cultural studies, & the creative process when teaching. She believes that the creative process is part of what makes us human and unifies our self-identity with the world around us. Doležal was an instructor in the Art Departments at North Idaho College from 2005-2013 and has taught at Eastern Washington University since 2007.
Most recently, Rachel Doležal has been appointed by the Mayor of Spokane to serve as a police commissioner for the Office of the Police Ombudsman, to oversee fairness and equity in law enforcement. She writes weekly for The Inlander as a social commentator and recently contributed to an important chapter to a textbook, “The War on Poverty: A Retrospective,” which was published this summer. Doležal also entertains an interest in the medical field and has begun pre-medical studies, working toward an MD and a residency in trauma surgery. She hopes to combine her medical knowledge with her passion for human rights and engage in life-saving surgery efforts around the world. Her other experiences include work in a community law office as a legal secretary, African dance, culinary arts, ethnic hair styling, modeling, managing a political campaign, and mothering two sons. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling, gardening & cooking.
Originally Posted by Jay Cunningham
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