SPOKANE, Washington — The ex-NAACP leader from Spokane has been in the spotlight for several days, accused of portraying herself as African-American even though she is white. Rachel Dolezal spoke out for the first time yesterday, telling the “Today” show she identifies “as black.” Dolezal did not deny her parents are white, that she was born white, or that she has changed how she looks at herself over the years. And she admitted not having corrected various published reports over the years labeling her as transracial, biracial and black.
But one question on the mind of NBCBLK’s Amber Payne in another interview had to do with Dolezal’s hair.
“Everyone wants to know: How do you do your hair? Is it a perm, is it a weave?” Payne asked her. “Everybody’s asking.”
Dolezal first said “Well, because you are you, and I’m here, I’ll tell you, but like I said, if I were in a grocery store or anywhere else, I would be like…it’s none of your business.”
Dolezal then said, “Yes, this is a weave.”
Dolezal said she does her own hair, and likes to change it up with braids and dreadlocks.
In February 2015, Dolezal actually spoke to Eastern Washington University students about the history of black hair.
How did #RachelDolezal get her hair that way?
— Ugly Fine (@Terence_da_AMOG) June 12, 2015
So who does Rachel Dolezal’s hair? Because her curl pattern is nice
— Nikki Devereaux (@TeflonVixen) June 12, 2015
