It looks like Rachel Dolezal has some company in her transracial realm.
White theatre director Anthony Lennon is under fire for accepting a director's job specifically meant for Black and minority ethnic (BME) people in the United Kingdom.
Lennon, a London-born thespian, has primarily worked on all-Black theatrical productions in the U.K. Last year, he was among four recipients of a paid traineeship as a "theatre practitioner of color."
According to The Independent, the scholarship was provided in part by a £406,500 ($529,291.46) grant from Arts Council England to "deliver a comprehensive program of talent development for future Bame leaders."
Lennon, 53, identifies as "African born again," which, in his opinion, automatically qualified him to apply for the prestigious honor. Although Lennon is white with parents of white Irish descent, he sheepishly insisted that he has experienced similar struggles BME people face.
Growing up, Lennon said his high cheekbones and curly hair instantly made him a target for bullying and he was once called a “n****r" in school.
Leaving his government name behind, Lennon now goes by Taharka Ekundayo, but that hasn't stopped critics from calling Lennon a "racial imposter," demanding that he relinquish his award so it can go to someone who meets the qualifications
In a 1990s BBC special called Everyman, Lennon didn't shy away from his heritage, saying “My parents are white, and so are their parents, and so are their parents, and so are their parents.”
However, according to him, his ancestry is of no relevance.
“When I’m alone in my bedroom looking in the mirror, thinking about stuff I’ve written down, thinking about my past relationship-wise, pictures on the wall, I think I’m a Black man," he said. "I’ve not said that to anyone. And I won’t say it outside.”
Lennon's case is yet another avenue in which white people, who are desperate to show their alliance to members of the Black community, ultimately end up shaming them in the process.
The Guardian columnist Coco Khan tweeted that Lennon was “the epitome of white entitlement."
Anthony ‘Ekundayo’ Lennon is the epitome of white entitlement, to be at centre of everything, to have access to every word, every culture, every community. That’s not being an ally (esp when it might end up destabilising BAME arts funding). Ant, some things ain’t yours fam? Ok?
— Coco Khan (@cocobyname) November 4, 2018
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