The woman who resigned from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Monday because she was outed as white once sued a school for discriminating against her - because she was white.

Rachel Dolezal said Howard University prevented her from getting teaching jobs after she graduated in 2002 with a Master of Fine Arts degree.

She also said the school, which describes itself as "predominantly black," pulled some of her artwork from an exhibition because they were motivated to "favour African-American students" over her, according to court documents posted on the Smoking Gun website.

A judge found she failed to prove her case that Howard discriminated against her "based on race, pregnancy, family responsibilities and gender, as well as retaliation."

In recent years, Dolezal passed herself off as black and was appointed head of the Spokane, Wash., NAACP. She stepped down from the post Monday after family members revealed she was a fake.