Rachel Dolezal. Do I even need to remind you who she is? You know, the white Spokane, Wash., NAACP chapter leader who was passing as black, got outed by her lily-white parents and declared herself “transracial”; then said she’s really black, not white; and then went on to score a book deal but is now also on the verge of homelessness because she can’t find a job?
There may be a legit reason why she can’t find a job, and it’s something we “real” black people face every day when it comes to having an “ethnic”-looking or -sounding name on one’s résumé or job application.
Yeah, I know. Neither “Rachel” nor “Dolezal” is ethnic-sounding, but Nkechi Amare Diallo definitely is. And yes, according to the Daily Mail, which happened to come across Washington-state court documents, Dolezal has officially blackened up her name. First, how do you happen to come across court documents about Dolezal? I mean, I guess you could be searching for them, but something tells me someone in her inner circle snitched on her.
Just in case you were interested in knowing the meaning of the name, in Igbo, “Nkechi” means “gift of God” and “Diallo” means “bold,” and its origins are Fula. Let me be the first to say, it takes a bold-ass white person to pass for black. But this chick is no gift from God.
If only she had picked a name like “Susie Reynolds,” she probably could have found a job by now.