vivid, revealing first-person counterpart to the author's highly-praised historical account, Selma 1965 . TheNational Organization for Women'sPhiladelphia chapter named her a Woman of the Year. Try not hiring someone due to their (perceived, in this case) skin color, and perhaps you wont have this problem in the future. . In previous newspaper articles going back to the mid-2000s, Saraswati was identified as belonging to Arab and Latinx or South Asian heritage. So the OL has at least an initial answer: No comment yet from AFSC headquarters. she lied about her race. Raquel Evita Saraswati, who claimed minority descent, outed by mom: 'White as driven snow', Former FOX pundit Raquel Evita Saraswati, who claimed Arab, South Asian, Latin descent, was outed by her own mom, who said she is "white as driven snow. Saraswati has refused to comment amid her outing, while deleting her social media platforms and taking a step back from her once prominent self-promotional lifestyle. The latest: a woman known as Raquel Evita Saraswati, who last month resigned from her position as chief equity, inclusion and culture officer of the American Friends Service Committee, an. Raquel Saraswati, who is facing public allegations that she misrepresented her background and past associations, has informed us of her intention to separate from the organization, Mullett wrote. Saraswati had also served as a commentator about Muslim extremism for conservative news outlets including FOX News and Newsmax. The concerns about Saraswati include what some AFSC members and supporters regard as a possible hidden political agenda. Purported AFSC statement here. Yet most of Aeros 100-plus employees were office or aircraft maintenance workers, who lived at home, shopped and went to church like anyone else, and simply kept their mouths shut about work.). While a change in political views is not unheard of, Saraswati has not publicly addressed her work from those years, and much of it appears to have been scrubbed from the internet. According to allegations in an open letter circulated on Feb. 10 by a group of individuals who care deeply about AFSC, Saraswati was living a lie. Further, among those I am familiar with, AFSC is one of the most fixated on a long list of anti-racist mandates, concerning race, sex, gender, age, vocabulary, pronouns and so forth, which all staff and committee members are continually exhorted to take into account in the course of every decision and action. 2 min read. Spectacular prose. Why might Aljouny back Saraswati? . Firmly believe? The Hindu origins of Saraswati were noted in the Original Letter, but with not much beyond the fact that it refers to a Hindu goddess of knowledge/wisdom. AFSC Diversity Leader Misrepresented Her Own Identity - The Intercept "Raquel Saraswati, who is facing public allegations that she misrepresented her background and past associations, has informed us of her intention to separate from the organization," Mullett. . Your email address will not be published. Local awards ceremony Rad Girls declared her Rad Girl of the Year. She served on the citys Mayors Commission on LGBT Affairs. For those following the unrest in AFSC headquarters about the identity & status of its DEI Director Raquel Saraswati (previously blogged about here ), a clarifying email came in late Friday from AFSC staffer Layne Mullett. That is, shes a fake woman of color. Is she also a fake Muslim? However, it appears the axe has fallen and the scrubbing has commenced: On the About AFSC webpage it still says: Still, on her Facebook page, a pinned post remains at the top: My phone isnt ringing. In it, Mullett answered the two big questions: One: was Saraswati still in her position at AFSC? Further, in an employment summary on a reportedly abandoned LinkedIn page, Saraswati said she was a fulltime freelance DEI consultant from 2009 to the present in 2022, and the location for this work was simply Global.. Saraswati appears to have deleted or locked most social media and did not respond to a request for comment. Will the organization investigate why a member of its most senior leadership has so profoundly eroded trust among the people of color on staff and in the communities that the organization serves? reads the open letter, citing a Quaker commitment to integrity. In order to post comments, please make sure JavaScript and Cookies are enabled, and reload the page. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Raquel Saraswati, 39, was named Woman of the Year, served on the Mayor's Commission on LGBT Affairs and until last week worked as the chief equity and inclusion officer for the American Friends. Raquel Evita Saraswati was faking racial identity in 2004 - New York Post They also change religions. She was a bronze-hued, Jersey-born spokesperson for Muslim and LGBTQ causes in fashionable hijabs, an adviser and confidant to localnonprofits. Reached by Friends Journal on Thursday morning, Saraswati declined to comment at this time but is considering a future statement. Raquel Saraswati, the Muslim progressive activist who has allegedly been lying about her ethnic identify, has resigned from a Philadelphia-based social justice group. But the open letter, and subsequent reporting by nonprofit news site The Intercept, cited genealogical research and interviews with family members to assert that Saraswati was of German, British and Calabrese Italian heritage. There was no way we had no relationship with her. Raquel Saraswati: 'White Woman' Faked Being Person Of Color - NewsOne Raquel Evita Saraswati, 39, was "outed" by "a group of individuals who care deeply" about the American Friends Service Committee where she works while pretending to be of Latin, South Asian, and Arab descent . "Raquel Saraswati, who is facing public allegations that she misrepresented her background and past associations, has informed us of her intention to separate from the organization," Mullett. . I felt very sad because we thought, wrongly, that we were very close to Rachel and that she was a very bright, politically astute woman. And he told me nothing. . This is not about proving ones heritage but about lying, misrepresentation and taking opportunities from actual women of color, tweeted documentarian Laila Al-Arian, who referred to Saraswati as a Rachel Dolezal of the Muslim community., Journalist Sana Saeed, who called attention to Saraswatis heritage as early as 2015, tweeted that focusing on the salacious aspects of Saraswatis story elides the harm shes done especially the years she worked as essentially a native informant with anti-Muslim orgs & platforms.. Shes usually depicted holding a stringed musical instrument. . (The bronzer? Which raises the awkward question, why had Saraswati sought to make up or re-invent her actual identity or to be blunt- can one become the the identity they imagine irrespective of biology or actual heritage? What about their plans for rebuilding a huge new antiwar-leftist movement like the one AFSC was a key leader of in the good old Vietnam days? It is an anonymous Open Letter [hereafter OL] posted publicly on the internet, alleging that a new addition to AFSCs leadership team is an impostor. Click here for instructions on how to enable JavaScript in your browser. He said he was impressed by her resume and her charisma. Created spaces for people to grieve in times of tragedy If I get any better answers, theyll be passed along ASAP. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Or maybe the secret plans for an even more all-encompassing maze of identity tests and seminars? Saraswati, who grew up as Rachel Seidel, was investigated by a group of individuals who care deeply about the AFSC and provided an open letter which identified years of deception. He is saying none of these concerns prove that she misrepresented herself, he claims her legal right to privacy after going so public with a narrative that would be career if not life-ending, and now this. A white chief inclusion officer at a Philadelphia Quaker-founded social justice firmwho was outed last week for faking her multi-cultural heritage has resigned from her position amid fallout from the controversy. Conservative activist Christopher Rufo says the left has won Americas culture wars. Knowing AFSCs antipathy for Israel, her biggest sin in their eyes may have been consorting with Jasser. The AFSC, the organization leader noted, has a history of being infiltrated by the FBI and has frequently been attacked by pro-Israel groups for its work in solidarity with Palestinians. So is she still at AFSC, or not? So far, Saraswati has been publicly silent. Im not familiar with any Quaker testimony on bronzers. Facebook / Raquel. How Progressive Quaker activism helped change America. Saraswati made the assertion in 2004 while speaking to Boston.com. Drug dealer parents 5 year old son high on coke fatally shoots baby brother high on marijuana, AFSC director resigns amid claims of living a lie, The 39-year-old white Muslim and activist quit after being accused of, AFSC said there was no requirement for an employee to, The organization has stressed its commitment to working globally with people from, Saraswati has refused to comment amid her outing, while. Race Race Faker Dubbed 'Raquel Dolezal' Quits Philly-Based Social Justice Charity 'CULTURAL VULTURISM' Raquel Saraswati, a white woman born Rachel Seidel, has been caught posing as Latina,. The authors of the damning open letter called on AFSC to investigate why a member of its most senior leadership has so profoundly eroded trust among people of color. In an anonymous letter posted on Medium that The Intercept has confirmed is from AFSC members, they noted that after 9/11 she appeared in conservative and Islamophobic spaces, including right-wing TV shows, where she was presented as a moderate Muslim critical of Islamic extremism. The letter also documents early photographs in which Saraswati appears to have a lighter skin tone. Nothing to prove.. As late as 2012, Saraswati was active in AFID; when Jasser published his first book, A Battle for the Soul of Islam, Saraswati not only attended a book launch party, but also took the photos for AFIDs website.The more links I followed, the more another dimension came into view: a deep political divide among American Muslims. She spoke about the difficulties Muslim women face in a documentary by media company Clarion Project, listed until 2020 as an anti-Muslim group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. . I definitely feel conned. A fake. A broadly circulated screenshot of a social media post, purportedly from Saraswati, promised she would provide answers when she was able. Raquel Saraswati: 'Multiethnic' activist outed by own mum as: 'white as Many of those working under cover,particularly those working in the Washington Beltway region, are not engaged in novelistic derring-do; they could even be indistinguishable from the tens of thousands of other government clerks, which in fact they are. Saraswatis appearance began to change while still at high school as she publicly rejected her heritage and started to claim she was Latin, South Asian or of Arab descent according to her family. Raquel Saraswati on LinkedIn: Join us at AFSC! This role works closely USA TODAY Network also contacted members of Saraswatis immediate family, who confirmed European heritage but otherwise declined to comment. Most such can be shrugged off or ignored; AFSC has long been good at that. The activist has been referred to online as the newRachel Dolezal referring to the white woman who in 2015 was exposed as having lied about her race for years and became president of the NAACPs chapter in Spokane, Washington. . DEI audit Castro viewed the recording of the video conference hiring interview with Saraswati but was not present for the conversation. The linchpin, an open letter from the anonymous group, provided an in-depth analysis of the 39-year-olds ancestry and her work, and expressed concern about her role. If you get the message that you are not good enough, that you are not worthy enough, it continues, then you might spend the rest of your life trying to prove that you are.. But the open letter, and subsequent reporting by nonprofit news site The Intercept, cited genealogical research and interviews with family members to assert that Saraswati was of German, British and Calabrese Italian heritage. Imagine the trauma of people who confided in her, trusted her, and shared sensitive information about their work and about their lives, thinking that shes a fellow person of color, the AFSC leader said, referring to Saraswati. Besides which, I have no particular interest in who AFSC hires for its staff positions, beyond a frequently-repeated complaint that almost none are actually part of the Religious Society of Friends. ", NY Rep. George Santos, who lied about being Jewish, recognizes Auschwitz anniversary, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy, Raquel Saraswati resigned as equity and inclusion officer after allegations she misrepresented her race, Advocates fear erosion of trust, cite damage to communities of color. Its curious and bizarre, the relative told the dailymail. Human resources professional Oskar Henry Castro, who participated in AFSC's hiring committee for Saraswati, told The Intercept that Saraswati had represented herself as multiethnic and as a queer person of color, who happens to be a Muslim in hiring interviews he saw. I feel deceived.. Do some Muslims dislike her or think that her criticism is harmful? We acknowledge that the public allegations against Raquel have brought to the surface many critical issues that warrant further discussion and this situation has been difficult and distressing for many AFSC staff and community members. Raquel Evita Saraswati, chief inclusion officer at a prominent Quaker social justice group called American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), has been outed as a liar by her mother. . So how do they investigate, and how does she prove, that she is Latinx? Perone also shared with The Intercept her Ancestry.com profile and a photo of Saraswatis biological father, who is deceased. The AFSC newsletter connects activism to the issues that matter. This story has been updated to correct the number of followers for @raquelevita on TikTok. A broadly circulated screenshot of a social media post from Saraswati is said to have promised that she would provide answers when she was able. "Raquel Saraswati" serves as the chief equity, inclusion, and culture officer at the American Friends Service Committee, a group which describes itself as an organization following the Quaker . It is not hard to imagine some of its staff finding the twisting course of Seidel/Saraswatis identity as falling drastically short on many of these counts, and tough to pick the most salient. Saraswatis case echoes other prominent examples of public figures accused of misrepresenting their heritage. Discover the latest news and features from Friends Journal. Raquel also assures us that she remains loyal to AFSCs mission, which we firmly believe.The statementadded that AFSC does not require any employee to prove their heritage as a condition of their employment, or in order to be valued as a member of our team.. In any event, the struggle over Saraswati as DEI director appears not to be over, and its ramifications may well go beyond her and that position. Diversity activist who claimed to be Latino, Arab, South Asian outed as Increased resource support and access . But I expect Philadelphia will be calling soon, right? I wonder though: what does it mean that Saraswati stands by her identity. Certainly people sometimes change their names, for non-nefarious reasons. AFSC has given Raquel the opportunity to address the allegations against her, and Raquel stands by her identity, read a statement to The Intercept from AFSCs Mullett, prior to Saraswatis resignation. Mom says woman claiming to be South Asian, Arab, Latina is white Muslim activist Raquel Saraswati allegedly lied about being South Asian Quaker aphorism, https://foreignpolicy.com/podcasts/global-reboot/irshad-manji-and-shadi-hamid-on-preventing-islamophobia-around-the-world/, https://vancouversun.com/news/staff-blogs/the-trouble-with-irshad-manji, https://www.census.gov/topics/population/hispanic-origin/about.html#:~:text=OMB%20defines%20%22Hispanic%20or%20Latino,or%20origin%20regardless%20of%20race, 2023 Friends Publishing Corporation. I definitely feel conned. She had a strong sense of equity and inclusion work, Castro said of Saraswati. But meticulously erasing an earlier identity is not only a challenge to do, its also tough to justify. February 23, 2023 Its fairly apparent that the organization should be laid down and the resources donated to something more worthy. Your email address will not be published. He is a strong supporter of Israel, insists that all Muslims should recognize and accept Israel, and inoculate American Muslim communities against any sympathy for Islamism.. The challenge, of course, is always veracity, Castro said. As Friends, many of us are inspired by Join us for one of our 2023 events at the Maison Quaker! Furthermore, a Google search for Irshad Manji Islamophobe turns up nothing, at least not up front, about her being an Islamophobe; in fact, where the person and the prejudice were linked, its because Manji was warning of the danger of rising Islamophobia in the Western world. Required fields are marked *. As Actors Strike for AI Protections, Netflix Lists $900,000 AI Job, Sinema Bill on Firefighter Pay Is Slap in the Face to Workers Battling Blazes, Google Searches for Gerontocracy Skyrocket After McConnell Episode. I definitely feel conned. She was recently outed by the Interceptfor pretending to be of Latin, South Asian and Arab descent and her mother, Carol Perone, told the outlet that the woman is actually of British, German and Italian lineage. . 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, VP Harris backed AP HS course about slaves skills before Florida controversy, NYC health department joins the virtue-signaling and calls for reparations, West Virginia woman who is blind runs 5K race: This is just the beginning, Gerrymandering bid from NY Democrats now in top courts hands, lying for years about her ethnic identify. Prior to joining AFSC, Joyce served as the director of the Ramallah Friends School, a leading K-12 Quaker school in Palestine . Hes the Associate General Secretary of AFSC, Number Two in their top leadership. The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) has confirmed that Muslim activist Raquel Evita Saraswati, who had claimed to be of Latino, Arab and South Asian descent before being purportedly. The 39-year-old white Muslim and activist quit after being accused of cultural vulturism in which the inclusion director had claimed being of Arab, Latin and South American heritage while her own mother in an interview claimed Saraswati grew up in a Christian household and was ofBritish, German and Italian heritage while saying her fraudulent lifestyle was nothing less than crazy., AFSC said there was no requirement for an employee to prove their race or ethnicity, while confirming Saraswatis departure and describing her separation from the organization as a deeply personal issue., Diversity executive, former FOX pundit, resigns amid claims Raquel Evita Saraswati and the racial impostor problem Diversity executive accused of lying about her race resigns - Yahoo News They accused Saraswati who converted to Islam in high school, and has since come out as gay of cultural vulturism, and noted the shades of bronzer she applies to her face have become darker over time. Raquel Saraswati: 'White Woman' Pretends To Be Woman Of Color In June, General Mills responded to, American Friends Service Committee after 90 Years, We seek to know where the Spirit is calling us to be in a particular place and time. Dr. Katherine Richardson From: A Federal Judge Asks: Does the Supreme Court Realize How Bad It Smells? Embattled AFSC Diversity Officer to Leave Organization They bring up and make pressing words like external entitles and collaboration.. He believed she was a queer, Muslim, multiethnic woman because thats what she said she was. Sure, and you could have said the same about Benjamin Lay. Nevertheless I have checked a number of the many links in the OL, and they held up. The question is if she said it at all. Saraswati, her mother added, is of British, German, and Italian descent not Latina, South Asian, or Arab. They also accuse Saraswati of supporting Islamophobia by appearing in the 2013 documentary Honor Diaries, which concerns the status of females in Islamic countries, and working as an assistant to author Irshad Manji, who wrote the 2003 book The Trouble With Islam Today: A Muslims Call for Reform in Her Faith among other volumes. … I feel deceived, he told The Intercept. The existence of concerns about Saraswatis identity and activities does not in itself prove that she misrepresented herself, he said. More infiltration of the Quaker (Q?) Diversity exec Saraswati resigns over claims she misrepresented race For the AFSC known for its progressive values and history to have hired such an individual is also a damning indictment of how superficial and detrimental, to safe and inclusive workplaces, DEI can often be., Update: February 27, 2023 Saraswatis case echoes other prominent examples of public figures accused of misrepresenting their heritage. But this could be Rachels husbands surname and not one of her heritages. It is John Calvis How far Have You Traveled? . According to allegations in an open letter circulated on Feb. 10 by a group of individuals who care deeply about AFSC, Saraswati was living a lie. 1 Open Letter on Raquel Evita Saraswati / Rachel Elizabeth Seidel Concern is rising among the community of American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) staff, volunteers, and supporters regarding the controversy surrounding the recent hiring of Raquel Saraswati to AFSC's senior leadership. Race faking white Muslim RESIGNS as chief equity and inclusion officer This story has been shared 256,496 times. They noted her appearance on conservative-hosted shows, and asked: Are there external entities with whom Saraswati is collaborating?, She took on a higher profile after 9/11, appearing on Becks show and in a 2013 film produced by the Clarion Project, an organization the Southern Poverty Law Center said specialized in rabidly anti-Muslim films.. Sexual assault includes rape, nonconsensual sodomy (oral or anal sex), indecent assault (unwanted, inappropriate sexual contact or fondling), or attempts to commit these . The Ramallah Friends School is a bit of a misnomer: founded by Quaker missionaries in the late 19th century, and operated in coordination with successor American Quaker agencies. The meticulously footnoted letter accused her of cultural vulturism, alleging that Saraswati, formerly known as Rachel or Raquel Seidel, misrepresented herself as having Arab, Latinx and South Asian heritage. I talked with Hector Cortez on Wednesday. The open letter could reflect the authors belief that leaders of AFSC have not adequately investigated long-standing concerns about Saraswatis identity, said Oskar Castro, who was speaking in his personal capacity and not representing Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, where he works as the director of human resources and inclusion. . He aims to reverse it.

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