When Rachel Dolezal’s parents accused their daughter of "disguising herself" as a black woman in a now infamous interview earlier this year, the backlash was almost immediate. However, though Dolezal eventually resigned as the president of the NAACP’s Spokane chapter and endured both regional and national mockery, the controversy also spawned a very different sort of conversation surrounding the supposed limits of identity. Dolezal herself drew parallels to Caitlyn Jenner’s own journey, inspiring further debate surrounding the status—and meaning—of race in 2015.
Speaking with Broadly's Mitchell Sunderland in an extensive and lively discussion on her journey, from a childhood spent in a strict Christian household to her passion for the future of racial equality, Dolezal remains steadfast in her assertion of the Rachel Dolezal she feels she’s always been:
Dolezal’s strict Christian upbringing, which she corroborates in the interview by presenting a birth certificate that lists "Jesus Christ" as the doctor that delivered her (in a “teepee,” no less), contributed to a suppressed sense of creativity and expression. "I loved painting my face as a child," Dolezal says, revealing photos of herself as a kid with a face painted a variety of different colors, most often silver:
Describing her journey to the Rachel Dolezal of today as an "organic" process, Dolezal is confident her controversial 2015 will eventually give way to a place in the discussion surrounding equality and human rights. "I do have a high level of commitment and integrity to the cause," she says. "Maybe there's something internationally I could do with human rights." As for now, Dolezal is busy preparing for life with a new son (named after the poet Langston Hughes) and her own art, which she says expresses the difficulties of her journey:
Read the full interview here.