Rachel Dolezal, a civil rights activist and former President of the NAACP Chapter in Spokane, Washington, made headlines last year when she was outed as a white woman masquerading as a black woman. For a long time, she represented herself as black until her biological parents came forward and confirmed that she is actually white.
In a continuation of her bizarre story, she has now signed a book deal to write about race. That will indeed make for interesting reading.
Dolezal says that the book will be about being “caught between boundary lines of race or culture or ethnicity.” She adds that it will be based on research as well as her own experiences, especially after her exposure last year:
“I’m really excited to write the book and really get into addressing some of the issues I’ve researched for many years. Race didn’t create racism, but racism created race.”
The book, set to be published in March 2017 by BenBella Books, is likely to reignite debates on race and identity. In an interview with the Guardian in December 2015, Dolezal said that she still identifies herself as a black woman:
“For me, how I feel is more powerful than how I was born. This has been a lifelong journey. This is not something that I cash in, cash out, change up, do at a convenience level or to freak people out or to make people happy. If somebody asked me how I identify, I identify as black. Nothing about whiteness describes who I am.”
Dolezal’s self-identification as black has created divisions among people. While some support her for having the courage to be who she believes she is, others accuse her of being a fraud. Some even claimed she was mentally ill or distressed, while others criticized her for having taken advantage of African American history.
Whatever the case, identifying herself with African American culture can be a great thing, but deceiving people definitely wasn’t. As a result, her book is likely to face criticism for being based on less than genuinely authentic African American experiences.
Featured image is a screengrab from video.
