WASHINGTON 鈥� The former NAACP leader who resigned Monday amid disclosures from her parents that she鈥檚 white spoke publicly for the first time Tuesday morning.
Rachel Dolezal told NBC鈥檚 Matt Lauer a complex story of self-identification, sometimes resisted answering his questions directly and said that, other than handling a few interviews differently, she鈥檇 make the same decisions.
The controversy over Dolezal鈥檚 identity took flight last week after she was asked whether she is African-American and replied, 鈥淚 don鈥檛 understand the question.鈥�
Asked point-blank on Tuesday by Lauer whether she is an African-American woman, Dolezal said, 鈥淚 identify as black.鈥�
Shown a picture of herself as a teenager and asked whether the girl in the picture is an African-American woman, Dolezal replied, 鈥渧isibly she would be identified as white.鈥� Asked again whether she were identifying as African-American in the picture, she answered, 鈥渋n that picture, during that time, no.鈥� Yet Dolezal said her 鈥渟elf-identification with the black experience鈥� started at about age five, when she began 鈥渄rawing self-portraits 鈥渨ith the brown crayon instead of the peach crayon, and black curly hair.鈥�
The lines between Dolezal鈥檚 racial self-identification, her public persona and the biology of her parents began to blur in earnest when she was doing human-rights work in Idaho, she said. She began to be identified in news reports as 鈥渢ransracial,鈥� then 鈥渂i-racial,鈥� and after she and her sons were victimized by burglaries and found nooses around their house, she was identified as a black woman, and didn鈥檛 correct the characterization.
鈥淲ell, why didn鈥檛 you correct it?,鈥� Lauer said. 鈥淵ou knew it wasn鈥檛 true.鈥�
鈥淏ecause it鈥檚 more complex than being true or false in that particular instance,鈥� she said.
Lauer reminded Dolezal that her parents recently said 鈥渟he鈥檚 clearly our daughter, and we鈥檙e clearly Caucasian.”
鈥淲hen did you start deceiving people?鈥� Lauer asked
鈥淚t鈥檚 a little more complex than me identifying as black or answering a question of 鈥榓re you black or white?鈥欌�� she said.
Asked whether she鈥檚 darkened her skin, Dolezal replied, 鈥淚 certainly don鈥檛 stay out of the sun,鈥� but that 鈥淚 certainly don鈥檛 put on blackface as a performance.鈥�
And when she got full custody of her son Isaiah, she said, the transformation was complete.
鈥淚 certainly can鈥檛 be seen as white and be Isaiah鈥檚 mom.鈥�
Lauer said that Dolezal had previously indicated an older black friend as her father, to which Dolezal replied, 鈥淎lbert Wilkerson is my dad. Every man can be a father; not every man can be a dad.鈥�
In 2002, Dolezal sued Howard University, claiming that the historically black college where she earned a master鈥檚 in art had discriminated against her because she was white. Dolezal said that she sued because her scholarship and teaching-assistant position had been taken away, and she had been told 鈥測ou probably have white relatives who can afford to help you with your tuition.鈥�
The university hasn鈥檛 commented on the lawsuit; it was dismissed.
She was reportedly an effective leader of the Spokane NAACP, and Lauer asked whether she could have been as successful if she was known as white. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know,鈥� she said.
Dolezal said that, given the given the discussion over race and identity that has followed from the controversy, she would make the same decisions. She believes that the situation has opened up a discussion on 鈥淲hat it is to be human. And I hope that that can drive at the core of definitions of race, ethnicity, culture, self-definition, personal agency, and ultimately empowerment.鈥�
鈥淭here are probably a couple of interviews I would do a little differently,鈥� she said, but 鈥渙verall, my life has been one of survival. And the decisions that I have made along the way, including my identification, have been to survive, and carry forward on my journey and life continuum.鈥�
She concluded by saying that on Monday 鈥渙ne of my sons鈥� said, 鈥淩acially, you鈥檙e human, and culturally you鈥檙e black.鈥�
