Article content

The former Spokane, Washington, NAACP leader who resigned in 2015 amid criticism that she was passing herself off as black has changed her name in an attempt to better identify with African-American heritage.

According to the New York Daily News, Rachel Dolezal changed her name in October to Nkechi Amare Diallo. Nkechi means “gift of God” in the Igbo language of Nigeria. The name Diallo, meaning “bold” traces back to the Fula, a Muslim group in Western Africa.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Ex-NAACP leader Rachel Dolezal who falsely portrayed herself as black changes name to Nkechi Amare Diallo Back to video

Dolezal told Britain’s The Guardian newspaper that she is near homeless. She cannot find a job, she said, and the only work she has been offered is in reality TV and porn.

Dolezal has acknowledged that she is “Caucasian biologically,” but says she identifies as black.

She explains to The Guardian that she “began to see the world through black eyes” as a teenager after her parents adopted four black children. Dolezal says she decided to be publicly black years later following a divorce.

Dolezal maintains that she did nothing wrong.

Dolezal details her experience in an upcoming memoir titled “In Full Color,” where she will also reveal the story behind her changed name.

With National Post files