Rachel Dolezal
American racial identity activist (born 1977)
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Interest in “Rachel Dolezal” spiked on Wikipedia on 2026-07-21.
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Key Takeaways
- Nkechi Amare Diallo ( ); born Rachel Anne Dolezal ; November 12, 1977) is an American activist, author, and former college instructor known for presenting herself as a Black woman despite having been born to White parents.
- She received her bachelor's degree from Belhaven University in 2000 and her master's degree, summa cum laude , from Howard University in 2002.
- Later, Dolezal darkened her skin, permed her hair, and claimed a Black identity.
- 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.
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Source summary
WikipediaNkechi Amare Diallo (); born Rachel Anne Dolezal; November 12, 1977) is an American activist, author, 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.
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