The George Washington University professor admitted to the deception on Medium.
What We Know:
- On September 3rd, Jessica Krug shared a blog post on Medium which revealed that she had been lying about her race for years.
- In the post she revealed her true identity as a Jewish white woman from Kansas City, and turned a critical eye on her decision to masquerade as a Black woman.
“No white person, no non-Black person, has the right to claim proximity to or belonging in a Black community by virtue of abuse, trauma, non-acceptance, and non-belonging in a white community. The abuse within and alienation from my birth family and society are no one’s burden but my own, and mine alone to address. Black people and Black communities have no obligation to harbor the refuse of non-Black societies. I have done this. I know it is wrong and I have done this anyway.”
- Krug’s statement went on to say that her mental health issues and childhood trauma were the reason for her assuming a Black identity. She spoke as though she had been maintaining these false identities on and off since her teen years.
- Krug gained traction as a writer while pretending to be a Black woman, publishing a book and even earning column inches in magazines RaceBaitr and Essence. In the bio for these columns she described herself as an “unrepentant and unreformed child of the hood”. Both articles have since been removed from their respective sites.
Keeping Black spaces safe is our highest priority and we failed this time, but we will do better. Jessica Krug’s words have been removed from our platform and we welcome any other suggestions for better vetting and elevating writers committed to the liberation of Black people. pic.twitter.com/jicCVCb24O
— RaceBaitr (@RaceBaitr) September 3, 2020
- Krug has also taken on an Afro-Latina identity in the past. In comments to the New York City Council earlier this year, Krug called herself “Jess La Bombalera” in an accent and stated that she was calling from the “barrio”.
- Since Krug’s admission, the George Washington University Department of History has stated she will no longer be teaching classes this semester and has called on her to resign. “The discipline of history is concerned with truth telling about the past. With her conduct, Dr. Krug has raised questions about the veracity of her own research and teaching.”
Krug’s actions have been compared to those of Rachel Dolezal, a white woman from Montana who was outed by her parents in 2015 for pretending to be black.