--- description: The white NAACP official who made headlines in June after revelations she had passed herself off as black defended her racial identity title: Rachel Dolezal Says Her Black Identity Is 'Not a Costume' image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd828e06b1bb08b23/69885b860a4a22b2a19c533d/rachel-dolezal-identity.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Race](/tag/race/) ## Race Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Rachel Dolezal Says Her Black Identity Is 'Not a Costume' by [Helen Regan](/author/helen-regan/) ## Helen Regan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 20, 2015 2:19 AM CUT  Rachel Dolezal, president of the Spokane chapter of the NAACP, poses for a photo in her Spokane, Wash., home on March 2, 2015. Rachel Dolezal, president of the Spokane chapter of the NAACP, poses for a photo in her Spokane, Wash., home on March 2, 2015.Colin Mulvany—The Spokesman-Review/AP by [Helen Regan](/author/helen-regan/) ## Helen Regan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 20, 2015 2:19 AM CUT The white NAACP official who [made national headlines](http://time.com/3918915/rachel-dolezal-race-naacp/ "undefined") in June after revelations she had passed herself off as black for years [defended her racial identity in a new interview published Sunday](http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2015/07/rachel-dolezal-new-interview-pictures-exclusive "undefined"). “It’s not a costume,” Rachel Dolezal told _Vanity Fair_. “I don’t know spiritually and metaphysically how this goes, but I do know that from my earliest memories I have awareness and connection with the black experience, and that’s never left me. It’s not something that I can put on and take off anymore.” Dolezal resigned as head of the NAACP chapter in Spokane, Wash., after her parents, both of whom are white, said she was lying about being black. The controversy led to [a debate about racial identity in America. ](http://time.com/3921404/rachel-dolezal-naacp-race-kareem-abdul-jabbar/ "undefined") “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,” Dolezal said. “I think the world might be — but I’m not.” [Read more at _Vanity Fair_](http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2015/07/rachel-dolezal-new-interview-pictures-exclusive "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3963903/rachel-dolezal-black-white-spokane-naacp-interview/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3963903/rachel-dolezal-black-white-spokane-naacp-interview/"},"headline":"Rachel Dolezal Says Her Black Identity Is 'Not a Costume'","datePublished":"2015-07-20T02:19:51.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T09:23:06.055Z","description":"\"I’m not confused about that any longer”","url":"https://time.com/3963903/rachel-dolezal-black-white-spokane-naacp-interview/","keywords":["Race","NAACP","african american","Rachel Dolezal"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd828e06b1bb08b23/69885b860a4a22b2a19c533d/rachel-dolezal-identity.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Helen Regan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/helen-regan/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd828e06b1bb08b23/69885b860a4a22b2a19c533d/rachel-dolezal-identity.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Rachel Dolezal, president of the Spokane chapter of the NAACP, poses for a photo in her Spokane, Wash., home on March 2, 2015.","caption":"Rachel Dolezal, president of the Spokane chapter of the NAACP, poses for a photo in her Spokane, Wash., home on March 2, 2015.","creditText":"Colin Mulvany—The Spokesman-Review/AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/race/","name":"Race"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3963903/rachel-dolezal-black-white-spokane-naacp-interview/","name":"Rachel Dolezal Says Her Black Identity Is 'Not a Costume'"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Rachel Dolezal Says Racial Identity Is Complex","description":"Rachel Dolezal spoke with Matt Lauer about her transracial self-identification. Directly after, her adopted brother contradicted her argument.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/6O3Yhpfj/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-06-16T15:26:14.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/6O3Yhpfj.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3963903/rachel-dolezal-black-white-spokane-naacp-interview/","duration":"PT1M22S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3963903/rachel-dolezal-black-white-spokane-naacp-interview/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```