--- description: Rachel Dolezal, the white woman who posed as African American for years and headed a local chapter of the NAACP, admitted she is white title: Rachel Dolezal: I Was Born White 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: I Was Born White by [Sam Frizell](/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 2, 2015 7:29 PM 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 [Sam Frizell](/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 2, 2015 7:29 PM CUT Rachel Dolezal, the white woman who posed as African American for years and headed a local chapter of the NAACP, admitted on Monday that she is white. In an appearance on _The Real_, a regular panel discussion in the style of _The View_ but with all women of color, Dolezal said she was “biologically born white.” It appears to be the first time Dolezal has conceded her race in public. “You weren’t born black, so when you say you are black, it makes it hard for people to understand where you’re coming from,” said panelist Jeannie Mai. “Right, and that’s why I said, I acknowledge that I was biologically born white to white parents, but I identify as black,” said Dolezal. The audience erupted into applause. Dolezal is a civil rights activist who aroused national controversy for her choice to pass as black. She argued it was legitimate for her to identify as black, while critics accused her of cultural appropriation. **Read more:** [_Everything You Need to Know About the ‘Transracial’ NAACP Activist_](http://Jeannie Mai confronted her with, "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4096959/rachel-dolezal-white/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4096959/rachel-dolezal-white/"},"headline":"Rachel Dolezal: I Was Born White","datePublished":"2015-11-02T19:29:18.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T12:16:40.902Z","description":"It appears to be the first time Dolezal has conceded her race in public","url":"https://time.com/4096959/rachel-dolezal-white/","keywords":["Race","NAACP","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":"Sam Frizell","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/"}],"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/4096959/rachel-dolezal-white/","name":"Rachel Dolezal: I Was Born White"}}]}] ```