Organizers of the Baltimore Book Festival have disinvited Rachel Dolezal, the white woman who led others to believe she was black.
The decision Tuesday by the Baltimore Office of Promotion & the Arts came days after defending its choice to have her there. Dolezal recently published a memoir, "In Full Color: Finding My Place in a Black and White World."
Dolezal, the former head of the Spokane, Washington, chapter of the NAACP, could not be immediately reached for comment.
In a previous interview with NBCBLK, Dolezal said that she identifies as trans-black, an identity that she said challenges white supremecy.
"I said I tried the 'ally path' in my earlier young adulthood," Dolezal said in that interview. "I did a lot of work but it wasn't as much in harmony with me being seen and understood for who I am, and that just kind of all synchronizing, in my life."
Last week, the Baltimore office had justified its decision to invite Dolezal, saying the annual September festival seeks to expand understanding of people and thinking that may be different.
But the office said in a Facebook post on Tuesday that after hearing opinions from its constituents, it had to consider how Dolezal's appearance would affect the audience and the other authors.
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"A top priority of the Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts is to listen to our constituents," communications director Tracy Baskerville said in a statement.
