A few weeks back Lord Jamar spoke on the vast amount of attention Rachel Dolezal is receiving nationwide because she identifies herself as a Black woman though born White. Comparing her to Caitlyn Jenner, Jamar expressed his belief that we should do the same for them both as far as publicity is concerned. "So give this b**** her reality show, get this b**** a commendation from f****** Barack, and get this b**** a f****** cover on Vanity Fair ASAP! Period!" he shouted. It seems like someone was listening to his rant, as it was recently revealed that she has a feature in the latest issue of VF.
Though she admits she went through a stage in her life where she confused about her identity, in the end she still resonates with the Black community. "It's taken my entire life to negotiate how to identify, and I've done a lot of research and a lot of studying," she tells Vanity Fair. "I wouldn't say I'm African American, but I would say I'm black, and there's a difference in those terms."
She also made it clear that as far as how she looks "it's not a costume." "I don't know spiritually and metaphysically how this goes, but I do know that from my earliest memories I have awareness and connection with the black experience, and that's never left me. It's not something that I can put on and take off anymore. Like I said, I've had my years of confusion and wondering who I really [was] and why and how do I live my life and make sense of it all, but I'm not confused about that any longer. I think the world might be—but I'm not."
The former head of Spokane, Washington's local N.A.A.C.P. now does braids and weaves with several appointments weekly, and wants to write a book so that she has a "public explanation," that way she doesn't have to keep repeating herself. "Again, I wish I could have had conversations with all kinds of people," she says. "If I would have known this was going to happen, I could have said, 'O.K., so this is the case. This is who I am, and I'm black and this is why.'"
Source: Vanity Fair
