Yet, in an interview with Voice Latina, she claimed she was a “cultural mix of Puerto Rican, Colombian, Italian and some other.”

The 43-year-old Georgia native has been stealing opportunities from Latinx people since at least 2006, when she began misrepresenting her heritage, according to Vásquez.

Vásquez spoke with multiple Latinx lawyers who expressed dismay that Bannan spent years taking opportunities away from members of a group that are already lacking in opportunities in the legal profession, according to NBC News.

“It’s like she’s wearing a Latina costume and dresses according to Latina stereotypes. A lot of us endure so much criticism because of the way we look and the way that we talk; the hate and harassment we receive means we have to tone ourselves down. Actual Latinas couldn’t get away with what she does,” Guatemalan lawyer Ana Gabriela Urizar told the news outlet.

Prism listed out many of the opportunities she took based on her false identity, including participation in the National Hispana Leadership Institute and awards like the Peace, Health, and Justice Award from Casa Atabex Ache.

She served as president of CUNY Law School’s Latin American Law Students Association and was a fellow with the Center for Latino/a Rights and Equality.

Bannan managed to get an internship in 2010 with the Center for Constitutional Rights’ Ella Baker program. When she was named president of the National Lawyers Guild in 2015, they lauded her as the organization's first Latinx president, according to Prism.

She was a Ricardo Salinas Scholar at the exclusive Aspen Institute’s Justice and Society Seminar, and her participation was funded by a scholarship that specifically aimed to expand opportunities for the Latinx community.

The news outlet also noted that she has had multiple essays and pieces included in anthologies designated specifically for Latinos.

Over the past year, multiple white women have been outed as having lied about their heritage, from Hilaria Baldwin most recently to Jessica Krug last year. While the most infamous example was Rachel Dolezal, more and more have emerged in recent months.

While Bannan tried to defend herself on Twitter, the response was far from positive.

Jessica-Krug

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