Rachel Dolezal, the white woman who claimed to be black in 2015, is now saying that she has been “vindicated” by the Black Lives Matter movement — or at least that is what she claims people have been telling her.
Dolezal, despite undergoing a national scandal in 2015 where she portrayed herself as a black woman for at least a decade and used her purported race to gain power and infamy, still sees herself as a black woman and insists she can help minorities receive fairer treatment.
“Racially I identify as human, but culturally I identify as black,” Dolezal told the New York Post from her home in Spokane, Washington. “I do hope that we can rework the vocabulary. That’s part of challenging the race world view.”
Dolezal had become a professor of “black studies” at Eastern Washington University, a president of the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), and secured a job as a “diversity trainer” for businesses, among other positions — all because of her purported race.
She resigned from the NAACP position and was fired by the university once it was revealed that her parents were both white.
Dolezal, a single mother who changed her legal name to Nkechi Amare Diallo in 2017, still goes by Rachel and currently makes a living braiding hair and selling her artwork.
Dolezal said she has been energized by the hunger for justice in light of George Floyd’s death. She says the local Black Lives Matter movement in her area has declined her offer to get involved, but she claims she has good relationships with the protesters and the black community.
“Overwhelmingly, most people I hear from are black or mixed or non-white in some way, and a lot of people have said this is your moment, you’re vindicated,” Dolezal said. “I have received hundreds of messages. Most of it’s been overwhelmingly positive.”
Dolezal is selling a work of art on her website for $1,000 called “Truth Be Told,” which features busts of former presidents with unflattering captions splattered in red paint. The busts feature George Washington — a slaver, Andrew Jackson — a racist, Thomas Jefferson — a rapist, and Franklin Roosevelt — a racist.
Dolezal faced multiple criminal charges in 2018, including theft by welfare fraud, false verification for public assistance, and perjury. She completed 120 hours of community service and paid a fine as her sentence.