Rachel Dolezal is back in the news weeks after stepping down as head of Spokane, Washington"s NAACP chapter.
The 37-year-old "transracial" woman, who was outed by her white parents after years of insisting she is black, told Vanity Fair magazine she still sees herself as black.
"It"s not a costume," she told the publication. "It"s not something that I can put on and take off anymore. Like I said, I"ve had my years of confusion and wondering who I really (was) and why and how do I live my life and make sense of it all, but I"m not confused about that any longer. I think the world might be -- but I"m not."
Dolezal"s parents told a local newspaper in June that she was born white, prompting local criticism over her involvement with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. When she said in a TV interview that she identifies as black, the clip went viral and she resigned over growing backlash as it reportedly emerged she once tried to sue the historically black Howard University for discrimination because she was white.
She also lost her job at Eastern Washington University. According to the New York Post, she worked as an adjunct at the college and once taught a course on the politics of black hair.
Dolezal is now working in a hair salon just to make ends meet, braiding and weaving hair for black women. She takes appointments three times a week, but her income has taken a hit.
"My last paycheck was like $1,800 in June," she told Vanity Fair. "[I lost] friends and the jobs and the work and oh, my G*d so much at the same time."
CNN reports Dolezal next plans to write a book about her experiences with identity, "as opposed to having to continue explaining." She hopes it will help her get back involved with her previous career in the "racial social-justice movement."
Source: http://www.syracuse.com/us-news/index.ssf/2015/07/rachel_dolezal_hair_salon_naacp_black.html
