News June 16, 2015
Rachel Dolezal Speaks Out Against Claims She Is Not African-American: ‘I Identify as Black’
Rachel Dolezal has stepped down from her position as President of the Spokane, Washington Chapter of the NAACP after claims she fooled people for years about her ethnicity. She spoke out for the first time with “Today's” Matt Lauer on Tuesday, telling the host, “I identify as black."
Rachel Dolezal breaks her silence in exclusive interview on TODAY: 'I identify as black' https://t.co/mbrozpmcMl pic.twitter.com/1j4reYfBeQ
@TODAYshow
Lauer showed a picture of Rachel as a teen, and asked her to define her racial identity at the time. She responded, "I would say visually she would be identified as white by people who see her." Lauer probed, "At the time, were you identifying yourself as African-American?" Dolezal replied, "In that picture, during that time, no."
In a statement posted Monday on the Spokane NAACP Facebook page, Dolezal announced her resignation after an “unexpected firestorm.” When asked by Lauer to explain the statement, she responsded, "I don't really see why they're in a rush to whitewash some of the work that I have done and who I am and how I've identified."
When asked if she would "make the same choices" today, given what she knows now, Rachel answered, "I would.”
