Rachel Dolezal — Biography

Nkechi Amare Diallo, formerly known as Rachel Anne Dolezal, is an American activist, educator, and convicted fraudster who gained widespread attention for claiming to be a black woman while actually being white. She also asserted both black and Native American ancestry. Previously serving as head of the Spokane, Washington chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, she held this position from 2014 until resigning in June 2015 amid a major controversy surrounding her racial background. The situation escalated when her own parents publicly disclosed that their daughter was misrepresenting her race and was in fact of white heritage. This parental revelation came after Dolezal had filed complaints with law enforcement and news outlets claiming to have experienced race-motivated hate crimes, though police investigation found no substantiation for these claims. In her application materials, Dolezal falsely identified as biracial, claimed that a black man was her biological father, and stated that her brother was her son. Following the scandal, the university removed her from her teaching role in Africana studies at Eastern Washington University, and she was terminated from her position leading the Spokane Police Ombudsman Commission for "a pattern of misconduct." By 2015, Dolezal conceded that she was "born white to white parents" but insisted her identity as a black woman was authentic. The incident sparked significant national conversation regarding how race is defined and experienced. Those opposing her actions accused her of cultural appropriation and deception, while Dolezal contended that her self-identification reflected genuine identity. She published a memoir in 2017 titled In Full Color: Finding My Place in a Black and White World discussing her perspective on racial identity.