Texas woman discovers she’s white after 70 years |
Texas woman discovers she’s white after 70 years
KHOU
Houston, Texas
2015-06-22
Marvin Hurst, Reporter
KENS 5 TV, San Antonio, Texas
Byrd with her adoptive family. (Photo: (Photo: Family Photograph))
The mere mention of Rachel Dolezal’s name sets Verda Byrd off like a stick of dynamite. “She lied about her race,” Byrd said. “I didn’t lie about my race because I didn’t know.”
Dolezal’s much publicized choice to identify herself as black has been under scrutiny. The former NAACP President in Spokane, Wash. is accused of deceiving the public by insisting she was not only of black descent but black herself.
Byrd considers herself African-American. Her preference in race comes through an incredible set of circumstances. She was born to Earl and Daisy Beagle in September 1942. They named her Jeanette. She describes her parents as white transients.
Earl walked out on his family. At the time, Daisy had five children to take care of. The struggling mother had to get a job to feed her kids and keep a roof over their heads. The woman fell 30 feet to the ground in a trolley accident. The state of Missouri took her children because she was in no shape to care for them…
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Tags: Jeanette Beagle, KHOU, Marvin Hurst, Rachel Dolezal, Verda Byrd