American activist Rachel Dolezal changes her name to Nkechi Amare Diallo

The former leader of NAACP, Spokane chapter who pretended to be black for years until she was exposed by her parents has officially changed her name to Nkechi Amare Diallo, a Nigerian name, in a Washington court in October 2016.

Rachel Dolezal, 39 now to be officially known as Nkechi "short for Nkechinyere, which means ‘gift of God’ in Igbo language of Nigeria filed papers in her hometown of Spokane, Washington to legally change her name to Nkechi Amare Diallo.

 

 

Legal documents obtained by DailyMail show her new name, Diallo, meaning ‘bold,’ is a last name of Fula origin. The Fula people are a Muslim ethnic group thought to have roots in the Middle East and North Africa, who are now widely dispersed across West Africa.

Dolezal, was a prominent activist for black people and a one-time professor of Africana studies at Eastern Washington University in Washington has reportedly fallen on hard times recently and has had difficulty rebuilding her reputation and providing for herself and three children since being exposed in June 2015 by her parents. 

 

Speaking to The Guardian last week, the civil rights advocate described how she had been unable to find a job or pay her rent in recent months.

 

According to The Daily Mail, she attempted to use her new identity to try to garner some positive attention.

Dolezal is set to release a memoir next month, titled “In Full Color,” which will outline her life.
She who acknowledges that she is ‘Caucasian biologically,’ but says she identifies as black said she ‘began to see the world through black eyes’ as a teenager after her parents adopted four black children. 

She told The Guardian last week that despite what people say, she still believes she’s not white.

“I do think a more complex label would be helpful, but we don’t really have that vocabulary,” Dolezal explained.

“I feel like the idea of being trans-black would be much more accurate than ‘I’m white.’ Because, you know, I’m not white … Calling myself black feels more accurate than saying I’m white.”