Rachel Dolezal in Netflix’s “The Rachel Divide”
Nkechi Amare Diallo (fka Rachel Dolezal) will be on your Netflix feed soon because the “trans-black” woman will be featured in a documentary called The Rachel Divide.
We all know Rachel Dolezal. She is the white woman who identifies as black because she feels like a black woman inside (whatever that means). Many have labeled her “crazy,” “mentally unstable,” “a fraud,” and the list goes on and on. But for Dolezal, she says that her identification as a black woman is sincere.
We reported last year that she told The Guardian that using the term “trans-black” is a more accurate way of describing her complicated identity.
“I do think a more complex label would be helpful, but we don’t really have that vocabulary,” she said. “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. There is a black side and a white side on all kinds of issues, whether it’s political, social, cultural. There’s a perspective, there’s a mentality, there’s a culture. To say that I’m black is to say, this is how I see the world, this is the philosophy, the history, this is what I love and what I honour. Calling myself black feels more accurate than saying I’m white.”
Every time Dolezal attempts to explain her new identity, she ruffles more feathers, especially for black women because we don’t get the opportunity to switch racial sides. The 40-year-old gets to do so because she is still benefiting from white privilege, something that I’m not completely sure she’s aware of.
And her newly-created “trans-black” term and lifestyle are affording her the opportunity to gain some sympathy and some coin with a new documentary coming to Netflix on April 27. Dolezal sheds some “trans-black” tears in a teaser for the film, saying that she is risking a lot by putting herself in front of a camera for all to judge.
“Your film – we’re taking this risk. I’m putting my kids out there, I’m putting Esther out there. It’s hard, and I’m trying to be the gatekeeper…and then, you’re just like handing it over to somebody who can just like be a wrecking ball.”
I might actually watch The Rachel Divide because it will not only feature Dolezal’s perspective, but her children’s as well. She has two black sons, Langston and Franklin. One of her sons (the teaser doesn’t say whether it’s Langston or Franklin) bluntly tells his mother that he’s really tired of hearing her speak about her identity.
Son: “I really do not want to focus on this for the rest of my life.”
Dolezal: “Do you think I do?”
Son: “Well, why don’t you just like, let it go away?”
Dolezal: “When something gets destroyed, you have to rebuild it. You can’t just pretend that it didn’t happen.”
Son: “This book coming out and this documentary might just backfire like everything else has backfired…I resent some of her choices, and I resent some of the words she’s spoken.”
The book her son refers to is called In Full Color: Finding My Place in a Black and White World that dropped last year in March, and according to reviews, it didn’t do well. Dolezal has said that she has been struggling financially since being “outed” by the media in 2015 for passing as a black woman. So, doing this documentary just might be another stepping-stone to strike future deals, all while trying to convince folks that being “trans-black” is a thing. Chile.
Will you be tuning in on April 27?
