‘Still black’ despite race-faker backlash
RACHEL Dolezal‚ the controversial American author and former head of the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP) in Spokane‚ Washington‚ still identifies as black‚ despite the backlash she has received from the public.
“I still identify as black . . . maybe transblack is a good compromise because it identifies that I was born to white parents‚ but have an authentic black identity.”
Dolezal was speaking on 702’s breakfast show with Stephen Grootes yesterday.
The 39-year-old is in the country to speak at Quest for Non Racial South African Society Dialogue‚ but it is unclear whether the event will go ahead.
“Historically‚ there has been more of the numbers crossing the colour line in the opposite direction,” Dolezal said.
“People born and categorised as black in the United States lived a white life and that sense of racial fluidity had a bit of a spectrum‚ and yet‚ even people like Michael Jackson and others have reversed their pigmentation or their skin colour.
“There is possibility for fluidity in many different directions but it’s not necessarily a mainstream trend or process that people undergo, so I think to some extent there was some shock and sense of ‘what do we do’ with somebody who has always felt connected to blackness for their entire life and yet was born categorised as white.”
Dolezal‚ who changed her name to Nkechi Amare Diallo‚ has been criticised and confronted about being a race faker.
Dolezal‚ however‚ says that race is not a biological concept.
“This really brings up that race is a social construct. President Barack Obama even said that race is more social than it is biological and if you are perceived as African American‚ you are African American‚” she said.
Dolezal also told Grootes that when she identified as white‚ she was often questioned.
“People were arguing with me and telling me I was more black than white and now people are telling me that I’m more white than black,” she said.
Dolezal’s true identity was revealed last year and she received a considerable backlash over faking her race.