Rachel Dolezal identifies herself as white, black and Native American. She is president of the Spokane chapter of the NAACP, a professor in the Africana Studies department at the Eastern Washington University, and a graduate of Howard University. However, Rachel's white mother, Ruthanne Dolezal, says Rachel is not black. Their family ancestry is Czech, Swedish and German, “with a touch of Native American heritage," says Ruthanne.

When a local KXLY reporter asked Rachel Dolezal, “Are you African-American?” She replied, “I don’t understand the question." She added, "It's not as easy as it seems." Since her secret has been exposed, Rachel Dolezal has called the Spokane police to report several complaints of harassment. According to MSNBC, “Police say they have found little evidence of racial harassment.”