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WATCH: In Interview, Rachel Dolezal Admits She Was Born White

In this in July 2009 photo, Rachel Dolezal stands in front of a mural she painted at the Human Rights Education Institute's offices in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.
Nicholas K. Geranios
/
AP
In this in July 2009 photo, Rachel Dolezal stands in front of a mural she painted at the Human Rights Education Institute's offices in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.

Rachel Dolezal, the former NAACP official who made national news when questions were raised about her racial identity, admits that she was born white.

In an interview with the TV show The Real, Dolezal said, however, that she still identifies as black.

"I acknowledge I was born biologically white, to white parents," Dolezal told the hosts of The Real to applause from the audience. "But I identify as black."

As we've reported, over the summer, Dolezal resigned as president of the Spokane chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, after news emerged that she had been presenting herself as being of mixed race when she was really born to white parents.

Her story sparked a national conversation about racial identity and the interview with The Real furthers that conversation. It's interesting and at times uncomfortable. Here's a five-minute excerpt:

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Eyder Peralta is NPR's East Africa correspondent based in Nairobi, Kenya.