Rachel Dolezal

Nkechi Amare Diallo Listen^ⓘ (born Rachel Anne Dolezal; November 12, 1977) is an American activist, author, artist, and former college instructor known for presenting herself as a Black woman despite having been born to White parents.

Dolezal was born in 1977 in Montana to parents of predominantly German, Czech, and Swedish ancestry. She received her bachelor's degree from Belhaven University in 2000 and her master's degree, summa cum laude, from Howard University in 2002. Dolezal unsuccessfully sued Howard University, a historically black university, for discriminating against her due to her status as a White woman. Later, Dolezal darkened her skin, permed her hair, and claimed a Black identity. She started working as an instructor in the Africana Education program at Eastern Washington University in 2010. In 2014, Dolezal was appointed as chair of the Office of the Police Ombudsman Commission in Spokane, Washington. On her application, she stated that she had Black ancestry. Dolezal also became president of the NAACP chapter in Spokane in 2014.

In Coeur d'Alene, Idaho and Spokane, Dolezal alleged that she was subjected to racist harassment. Her allegations were not substantiated by law enforcement. After looking into Dolezal's allegations, a reporter found that she had identified a Black man as her father; the reporter spoke with the man, who contradicted Dolezal's assertion. The reporter then located Dolezal's actual parents. On June 11, 2015, The Coeur d'Alene Press published an article on Dolezal stating that she had "made claims in the media and elsewhere about her ethnicity, race and background" that were contradicted by her parents.

The controversy became national news and fueled debate about racial identity. Dolezal stepped down from her NAACP position, was removed from her post as chair of the Police Ombudsman Commission over "a pattern of misconduct", and was dismissed from her position at Eastern Washington University. Eventually, Dolezal acknowledged that she had been "born white to white parents", but maintained that she self-identified as Black. In 2017, Dolezal released a memoir, In Full Color: Finding My Place in a Black and White World. She was charged with felony theft by welfare fraud and second degree perjury in May 2018; the matter was resolved in a diversion agreement in which she agreed to repay her assistance benefits and perform community service.