dolezal said she didn't understand the question.hey should of asked her when your ancestors left africa were they above deck or blow deck? and "jurassic world" is top at the box office. another story we won't get to because of the fake white women story. put your wig on this. is the nightly show. captioning sponsored by comedy central [cheers and applause] ♪ [cheers and applause] >> larry: yes, monday. welcome to the "nightly show" how we doing on a monday. >> audience: larry, larry! larry: thank you i love the monday crowd. so much injury. we have a great show tonight. rapperlaura lindley white joining us on the panel. i had an amazing weekend. i went to spokane, washington for my local naacp meeting. they have the best snacks. you won't believe what happened. our leader right. the woman who guides me on my ebony journey. let me tell you. alright. she resigned, guys. i'm not making this up. i'm sure you haven't heard anything about the story. brace yourselves. >> breaking news from spokane, washington, rachel dolezal has stepped do

rachel dolezal: i would say about five years old.: she then went on to say how she came to identify as black. rachel dolezal: it is more complex than identifying as black or white. i was identified as transracial. the next newspaper article identified me as a biracial woman. i never corrected -- matt: why not? you knew it was not true. rachel dolezal: cities more complex than being true or false in that particular instance. juan: host matt lauer also asked rachel dolezal about why she sued howard university. she accuse them of discriminating against her because she was white. rachel dolezal: i have a huge issue with blackface. this is not some black ofckface -- some birth of the nation mockery. amy: we now go to another clip of rachel dolezal answering matt lauer. rachel dolezal: the reasons for it where that other people needed opportunities. i thought that was -- amy: today we host a roundtable discussion on the issues around race and identity sparked by this story. we are joined by three guests here in new york. stacey patton is a

the group stands behind dolezal's advocacy records.th anoer candidate for president makes it official today. jeb bush has formally announced his campaign for the white house and kicked off the bid at a rally at miami-dade comm about economic progress made when he was governor, creating jobs and helping small businesses. he becomes the 11th republican to officially seek the gop nomination. the party's first debate is all set. august 6th. >>> aaa has been predicting lower gas prices this summer and now the feds say those prices are on the way. the energy information administration is predicting that gas prices will dip every month for the rest of the year. the agency predicts prices could go as low as $2.27 a gallon by december. >>> this is a yellow alert day. here's wusa 9 first alert weather. >> so the gas prices are going down and the atmosphere is amping up. >> oh, yeah. we're pretty much done with the storms this evening except for southern maryland. we'll show you those. then we'll do it all over again tomorrow. this is our third m

dolezal is really white. erin o'hearn is live at the big board. erin the phrase hot mess is overused but it real does seem to apply to this situation. >> reporter: the story keeps getting stranger and stranger tam. this is 37-year-old rachel dolezal appeals to have carefully constructed a life as a black civil rights activist in the last decade but that world is falling apart following a shocking revelation by her parents that dolezal is actually a white woman who has posed for years as african-american. her parents produced this picture of her as a young girl with fair skin and straight blond hair. her mother saying rachel began disguising herself as black after they adopted four black children years ago. dolezal has resigned as president of the local branch of the naacp lost her position as a part time african studies instructor at a local university as well as her job as a freelance newspaper columnist is that now the subject of a probe by the city's ethics commission. dolezal has not only identified herself as black for years but has also file

earlier in the show we talked about rachel dolezal. pretending to be black. okay, i have to ask you. what do you think was going through her mind. robin, explain to me. >> think what was going through her mind. i want to be black. i hate my family. being black looks cool. >> larry: you think there was a hatred thing there? >> her family? >> yes. >> for sure. her family out her. >> all white kids hate their families. >> do they hate them that much? >> her parents hated her too. larry: there are definitely issues there. >> they showed up in the white shaw, white shaw. they didn't claim cherokee indan or anything. we are white. we are german. i am german. >> let's see -- wouldn't you rather be black than german? [laughing] >> oh -- larry: i think it depends on the time period. [laughing] >> 2015. larry: i don't like how plaque is the bad thing. like, you know i'm rebelling and i'm going to be a bad thick called black. >> what is interesting enough i was in germany last year. we had a driver who was obviously a mixed kid me. and my wife. >

dolezal initially dismissed the entire controversy saying it arrows from a legal dispute that divided but she came under increasing pressure from naacp members to resign. >> a lot of people that i've talked to especially in the african-american community that feel very hurt by the lies and deception and i think they're still waiting for answers. >> that was the first step was stepping aside and it's up to her if she chooses to give an apology to the peoplely they would like it. they would appreciate it but it's not required. because we're going to make a conscious choice to forgive her regardless of her actions because that's the right thing to do. >> reporter: clearly mixed reactions to the resignation. dolezal hasn't responded directly to questions about her race but has said in a statement "i will never stop fighting for human rights and will do everything in my power to help and assist. there's also new information that dolezal actually sued howard university where she attended for grad school for discriminating against her claiming she was passed over for positions in favor of af

i asked him about rachel dolezal. here's his response. >> i don't think we see the same degree of authenticity in the narrative of some kind of transition that we saw with caitlyn jenner so no i do not think the issues are the same. i think this is a moment for us to actually think critically about what rachel dolezal's trying to say about her own identity. >> he said it's more about life experience and by the way, dolezal says she doesn't regret the choices she made. keith jones, nbc 10 news. >> you can watch the entire rachel dolezal interview right now by tapping on the nbc 10 news app. >>> we have new video of two of the three people arrested in a home invasion in delaware county. jeman wallace and his brother sterling went before a judge this morning. the third person accused with them is a minor. police are still looking for a fourth suspect this afternoon. they say the four burst through the front door of this home on old cedar road in marple township yesterday afternoon. they pistol-whipped a 17-year-old and f

also rachel dolezal memoir titles and then rachel dolezal playlist where people address the controversials of dolezal trying to pass as african-american. then there are also ones like this capitalize on previous hot trends to address her story. but despite telling her side of the story, if you don't remember that, remember when we were all luking at the dress, is it blue and black or white and gold so that's kind of a play on that. well, here's also the thing many think that dolezal is evading the question of why she did it to begin with. still many on social media appreciate the questions her story has raised like what does it mean to be a specific race or more than one race and what does this say about race relations today and also you know, the topic of transracial. weapon talked about that yesterday, thomas. that's also been trending. some people saying you know, it doesn't even exist. finally, viewers have been weighing in on our bing question today. have rachel dolezal's answers changed your opinion of her? this after hearing from her specifically from these exclusive interviews her

appreciate both of you. >>> still to come, rachel dolez dolezal's parents react to her claim, and herr talks about one thing she said that was a kick in the gut to him. >>> donald trump comes out swinging. he's running for president. ♪ a good host, is a good host no matter where he's hosting. ♪ an hors d'oeuvre for the table? ♪ perhaps even an elegant gesture for the neighbors. ♪ stella artois host beautifully when pharmacists are in pain the medicine in advil is their #1 choice for pain relief. more than the medicines in tylenol or aleve. use the medicine that pharmacists use most for themselves. relief doesn't get any better than this. advil. you wouldn't take medicine without checking the side effects. hey honey. huh. the good news is my hypertension is gone. so why would you invest without checking brokercheck? check your broker with brokercheck. then boom... what happened? stress, fun, bad habits kids, now what? let's build a new, smarter bed using the dualair chambers to sense your movement, heartbeat, breathing. introducing the sleep number bed with sleepiqtm technology. it tra

chapter dolezal says she identifies as black and that she has not been tea september i have, we will have that story next. >>> well, civil rights activist at center of the debate operation identity is explaining herself. >> for nearly a decade rachel dolezal represented herself as a black woman despite her white heritage. cbs news correspondent wendy gilette has more. >> reporter: rachel dolezal said on nbc's today show that she identifies as black and that she has not been deceptive. >> this goes back to a very early age with myself identification with the black experience. as a very young child. >> reporter: dolezal resigned yesterday as president of the naacp chapter in spokane washington. >> are you here to take a stan. >> yes. >> reporter: members of the local civil rights community held a rally monday night following the development. demanding an apology for what they view as deopenings. >> she was one of our own marching with us, and yesterday we don't know who she is. >> reporter: city of spokane is investigating whether dolezal lied about her ethnicity when she landed an app

. >>> radical transformation rachel dolezal resigns amid accusations. >> yes, i consider myself to be black. >> reporter: she misrepresented her race. >> your parents -- >> reporter: now we are looking at the physical changes and attention-grabbing hair styles that marked her transformation from one race to another. but first the "nightline" 5. ♪ >> one day a rider made a decision. the decision to ride on, save money. ♪ he decided to save money by switching his motorcycle insurance to geico. there's no shame in saving money. ride on, ride proud. geico motorcycle, great rates for great rides. . >> number one in just 60 seconds. ♪ >>> good evening. thank you for joining us. tonight in north carolina, officials are on the hunt for the shark or sharks responsible for two violent attacks at the same beach this weekend. now abc's matt gutman vej ventures in to those dangerous waters to find out why these encounters are on the rise. >> there's a girl whose hand has been bitten off bay shark. we need an ambulance right away. >> these are the frantic 911 calls. beach goers recounting the horro

dolezal were white.re were allegations in her capacity as a volunteer member, she engaged in what el thud ka behavior misconduct. and what the report here says it amounted to workplace harassment and abusing her authority. rachel dolezal in hot water, spokane's mare yor and city officials calling for her immediate resignation. >> commissioner dolezal has breached her duty to keep id filling information confidential and to break confidentiality is flat-out wrong. >> new revelations from rachel dolezal continue to drive the national conversation, and social media firestorm over racial idty. >> i definitely am notice white. i -- nothing about being white describes who i am. >> describing herself as black, dolezal is now challenging her white parents to prove that her birth certificate is legitimate. >> i haven't had a dna test there's been no biological proof that larry and ruthanne are my bioloej cal parents. >> they taking a brea from the spotlight, releasing a statement -- dolezal says she's already thro

where dolezal was a student and filed a lawsuit against the historically black university. mola lenghi is live with more from howard tonight with reaction. what are you hearing? >> reporter: whether it's a question of identity or a matter of alleged discrimination, it seems the issue of race has been present in rachel dolezal's life, at the very least going back to her days as a student here at howard university. before rachel dolezal was a white woman pretending to be black she was a white student at historically black howard university. >> it's bringing negative energy. it's kind of like bad energy coming towards howard. >> reporter: while at howard dolezal who was rachel moore at the time filed a lawsuit against the university and one of its art professors claiming discrimination based on race, pregnancy, family responsibilities and gender as well as retaliation. she also alleged the university blocked her appointment to a teaching assistantship, rejected her application for internship and denied her scholarship aid. a judge ultimately dismissed the lawsuit. in an e-mail

dolezal teaches africana studies. here she is on youtube. >> what does that do to us as an image, how does that then connect to doing what you love? if you are an an artist selling your art or if you're a musician selling your music and performances? >> reporter: but her claims of black heritage as in this application for appointment on a police oversight board her mother describes her ethnic background as german swedish and czech. it's so very disturbing that she's become so dishonest says her parents. dolezal identifying this man as her father saying he was coming to visit. but this is a family photo showing larry dolezal her real father, according to a birth certificate out of lincoln county montana. and this is what happened when a spokane reporter asked her point blank about her race. >> are you african american? >> i don't -- i don't understand the question of, i did tell you that yes that's my dad. and he was unable to come in january. >> are your parents -- are they white? >> i'm not -- >> dolezal's parents wh

held before dolezal's resignation. the organization president and ceo told reporters questions around dolezal will be addressed at another time. >> do we stand behind president dolezal? i would same pli say to you we focus today on americans journey for justice. diane: the news conference ended an hour before her resignation was posted online. in northwest d.c., diane cho abc7 news. maureen: thank you diane. developing now a warning for swimmers on the north carolina coast after two shark attacks. a 13-year-old girl and 16-year-old boy each lost an arm in separate attacks late yesterday afternoon. the attacks happened on the same beach about an hour apart. >> the bystander to start the process of stopping the bleeding. that was the biggest concern with the patients was the blood loss. maureen: both teenagers are in good condition. there have been six shark attacks on the east coast in two weeks. the attacks occur as we enter a busy beach season on the east coast. maryland bureau chief brad bell is live with the reactio

after being outed as white by her parents and stepping down as the head of an naacp chapter, rachel dolezal says "i am black." but is that enough to make her black? >>> and trump card. after two decades of teasing, donald trump jumps into the race. >> awful these politicians that i'm running against now -- it's so nice to say i'm running as opposed to "if i run," i'm running. >> wolf blitzer is off today. i'm brianna keilar. you're in "the situation room." >>> we have breaking news this hour. federal agents have arrested a u.s. citizen, an aeronautics student who is allegedly behind an isis-inspired plot to build and detonate a bomb in the new york area. officials say that more arrests are expected. and this follows what may be the biggest blow to al qaeda since osama bin laden was killed. the white house confirms the death of the terror group's number two leader a former bin laden aide. he was the head of the branch that posed the biggest threat to the united states. >>> and the new cold war with russia may be heating up. with tensions growing over russian aggression in ukraine, the u.s. a

dolezal has five siblings four of them adopted.onight her brother zach who is african-american assistant sat done with gary tuchman. >> reporter: there is zero ambiguity when zach dolezal describes his sister rachel. what race is rachel? >> she's white. white. german german. a little chechnya i believe on my mom's side. >> zach was born in haiti and adopted by larry and ruth ann dolezal when he was an infant. he now services oil wells in north dakota. >> you love your parents, oh, yeah. >> this is a photograph of dolezal. her brother zach is on the right one of the four children the zoel zalls adopted. >> when you first heard her describe herself as african-american to somebody else what you heard about it, what was your feeling? >> confusion all the way around. i mean it's -- it didn't make sense. >> zach says several years ago, rachel told him -- >> she didn't consider them her parents. and, you know if we were to talk about them, they were larry and ruth an, not mom and dad. >> she told you to refer to them as larry and ruth ann

but dolezal's 35550-word statement didn't contain the two words this activist wanted to see. i'm sorry. >> you may not copy my people's struggle my women's struggle and call them your own when that never happened to you. >> reporter: online reaction was swift and sharp. one person tweeting "but is she going to quit being black?" another, "there is nothing in her resignation that suggests she couldn't have simply told the truth." dolezal's story viral ever since her biological parents said the civil rights activist was born white. >> we just hope and pray that she will be successful in her pursuit to come into a more realistic and truthful way of living. >> reporter: so far dolezal has not offered an explanation, but that hasn't stopped what's become a national conversation about identity and privilege. >> she may not be african-american but she is black in the sense that blackness is an identification with a set of goals and ideas and practices and the investment in them. >> reporter: late today, reports that dolezal sued howard university for discrimination in 2002 the year

to factor in what rachel dolezal dolezal's mother said if she leaves tranracial thing is a thing thatsts. she said no it comes from your genetic code genetic makeup. there is a lot of debate out there on social media if there is even such a thing as trans transracial. a lot of people are taking offense when you compare that to transgender, too. >> francis, thanks for taking the pulse with we'll talk again soon. >>> we want to go back to new york state upstate, and get you updated on the search for the escaped inmates. richard matt and david sweat. more than 800 law enforcement personnel are involved in the search for these two. all assets are being deployed around the clock to assist in their capture. and officials are following more than 900 leads with ten days in and still no sign of them new york governor andrew cuomo says at this point they could be anywhere. >> we don't know if they are still in the immediate area or if they are in mexico by now. right? enough time has transpired. but we're following up every lead the best we can. >> zeke i thinker is an international bounty hunt

dolezal said she didn't understand the question. top at the box office. another story we won't get to because of the fake white women story. put your wig on this. is the nightly show. captioning sponsored by comedy central [cheers and applause] ♪ [cheers and applause] >> larry: yes, monday. welcome to the "nightly show" how we doing on a monday. >> audience: larry, larry! larry: thank you i love the monday crowd. so much injury. we have a great show tonight. rapperlaura lindley white joining us on the panel. i had an amazing weekend. i went to spokane, washington for my local naacp meeting. they have the best snacks. you won't believe what happened. our leader right. the woman who guides me on my ebony journey. let me tell you. alright. she resigned, guys. i'm not making this up. i'm sure you haven't heard anything about the story. brace yourselves. >> breaking news from spokane, washington, rachel dolezal has stepped down as spokane's chapter of the naacp. her resignation over growing claims of her lying about being african-america

and as you know, dolezal attended howard university as a white graduate student. in 2002 dolezal sued howard saying the school discriminated against her because she was white. among her claims, she says officials removed some of her artwork from the exhibition in order to favor african-american students. the court ultimately ruled in howard's favor. howard students were curious but showed some compassion for her position. dolezal -- >>> the massive data -- breach that affects so many federal workers will be the subject of an intense hearing today. this morning every member of the house oversight committee will receive a briefing on the hack. jeh johnson will be one of the officials delivering an update on capitol hill. hackers got access to as many as 14 million federal workers' private information. that number could go up since the breach started in december. but it wasn't detected until april. >>> donald trump signaling a possible presidential bid. many say that he appears much more serious this time around. trump is expected to share the details of his personal

after being accused of lying about her race naacp leader rachel dolezal called it quits today. plus floodwaters are receding in houston but now the city is preparing for another major dousing. jamie wanted a taste of the real new orleans and we just couldn't say no to that face. then we wanted more of that local flavor so betty says... oh yeah, that's betty. you're going to want to do this alligator thing. and betty didn't lead us wrong. a little later we passed some dancing. and who doesn't like dancing? especially when it's followed by fireworks everyone's nola is different. follow yours. >>> i'm ken bastida in the kpix 5 news room. new at 6:00 tonight, a crime spike affecting much of san francisco and there's a plan to put more police on the streets. but who is pushing back? plus a symbolic landing in san jose. this flight just part of china's growing influence in silicon valley. join us for those stories tonight at 6:00. >> see you then. >> and late word just in, dennis o'donnell made his flight. all is well. he's on the plane. >> pelley: breaking news, tu >> pelley: breaki

i'm sure you've heard many say that with rachel dolezal saying she identifies with being black.o you believe this expands the conversation on race in this country? >> here's what i believe expanded the conversation. when you have the nation's oldest civil rights organization saying, come join us as we march in washington d.c. 860 miles focusing on racial profiling, protecting the right to vote. that expands the conversation. when you're walking, engaging dialoguing with people about the most critical problems of our country, that expands the conversation. i'm not entirely sure this reality tv moment, which is here today and gone tomorrow is a substitute for pushing for legislation to protect our children, to expand opportunity, to protect the right to vote that people bled and died for. that expands the conversation. i'm not entirely sure that this does. >> the other question i've got to ask you, and i think you were making some very valid points that things like this can distract the larger message of why the naacp exists and you've explained that very thoroughly. the other que

dolezal's parents said their daughter is white, even though dolezal identifies herself as black.ly with my colleague moments ago, saying how she has felt isolated nearly her entire life. >> my mother is a white woman who grew up in spokane, washington who has raised black children but she herself doesn't feel black. she's the white woman doing the work of parenting black children. help me understand how you feel a distinction, on the one hand being a white person raising children whether or not they're your siblings or adoptive children, all the different way we make family versus feeling in your own skin your own personhood, that you yourself are black. >> right. i felt very isolated with my identity virtually my entire life. nobody really got it that i didn't really have a personal way to express it and i can't imagine that maybe at some point, especially after the kids were graduated from high school and in their adult stride that maybe i would be able to really process that own it publicly and discuss this kind of complexity. but certainly, you know i'm not expecting it to be

dolezal shared her own identity struggles when interviewed by a student last year. >> i know who i am and my kids know who i am. and pretty much i don't think anybody else does. >> spokane's former naacp president says he can forgive dolezal but he's not sure if others will. and tonight plans for a demonstration here in spokane, savannah from people who hope to start the healing process and start the conversation about where to go from here. >> all right. hallie jackson in spokane for us. thank you. we should mention rachel dolezal will speak out in an exclusive live interview tomorrow morning on "today." >>> in upstate new york investigators now say they believe those two killers still on the loose had even more help than previously thought. today their alleged accomplice joyce mitchell was in court again. this time the former prison worker in shackles, bulletproof vest, and jailhouse stripes. tonight, was there a plot to kill her husband? nbc national correspondent miguel almaguer has the latest. >> reporter: shackled in a bulletproof vest and a jailhouse jumpsuit joyce mitchell loo

her father larry dolezal. >> her true birth ethnicity is caucasian. >> reporter: her parents say she grew up blond and blue-eyed. in a statement today they say she's been trying for several years to erase the reality of her true ethnicity as a white woman. her claims began to unravel after questions arose when a photo posted online showed her with an african american man she identified as her father. when pbs affiliate asked her last week about her race, dolezal dodged the question. >> the cause is justice. what's most important to me is maintaining the integrity of the work. >> reporter: but critics say her integhtd, not her race, is the issue. kitara mcclure is a community activist that worked with dolezal. >> no one said she didn't do any work. we're just saying you can't stand if a role of leadership and represent our community when you... when all your statements are questioned over their validity. >> reporter: in 2002, dolezal was an historic in howard at an historically black university claiming discrimination because she was white. the suit was disnissed. cornell williams bro

i did reach out to dolezal to see if she could confirm this did are did happen.t answer her phone. that may be because we're hearing reports she may have left down. >> all right, stephanie elam with the latest from spokane, thank you. >>> with us now in "the situation room," we have naacp president and ceo cornell william brooks. and thank you so much for talking with us today. this is the first time that you've spoken out since this news surfaced. tell us what you think about her stepping down and also did anyone in the naacp say to rachel dolezal, you know what this is a distraction, maybe this is what you need to do? >> well the naacp is focused on our mission and our work. that's at the heart of what we do. and so our members who looked up to her, appreciated her leadership are pained. very disappointed very disappointed. mainly because this is a distraction from the work. from the very day we announce a major initiative called americans' journey for justice we have this resignation. but at the end of the day, it's about the work. and that's what people are f

dolezal repeatedly identified herself as black until dolezal's parents spoke to reporters noting themakeup is overwhelmingly white. the proof came from a birth certificate and photos offered up. a start contrast to dolezal's current appearance posting a statement on the naacp facebook page that reads i will never stop fighting for human rights and will do everything in my power to help and assist whether it means stepping up or down because this is not about me but about justice. this is not me quitting but a continuum. the university where dolezal had part-time teaching position says her contract with the school ended on friday and she is no longer employed as her parents who have been estranged from their daughter continue to speak publically. she had this reaction to her daughter's resignation. >> i noticed in her letter of resignation there was no actual addressing of the issue of being dishonest about her ethnicity nor was there any apology. so i see that as a first step in her path to moving away from the negative feelings that she has had towards her family members. >> the nat

i'm wondering what you would say to rachel dolezal?would -- i think for someone who is passing as another race i think in the black community, there's plenty of room for allies for allies who are white is especially important to see, you know white folks walk in in marches carrying black lives matter posters has a lot of merit. and i think it would be very profound to adopt that sort of mentality if you're really feeling that much empathy towards another race. >> particularly in a community like spokane, washington which is overwhelmingly white. there's not a huge african-american population. so to have a white ally be able to go to white communities and speak about issues of race would be a powerful thing. >> it would have been an amazing experience if she had operated in truth and honesty and said i was born in this kind of social construct, in this racial identity but i choose to live in this experience in order to experience it and be able to relate to it. and that would have been power powerful and brave and interesting. this is n

. >> the curious case of rachel dolezal. >> the work that we are doing is so necessary. essential. >> today not so much. a shocking revelation sparked a national debate with allegations. this 37-year-old has been posing as black for a decade. here she is in photos presented by her family. a teenager. >> yes, i do kid myselfconsider myself to be back. this montana couple say they are her real parents and told us both european descent of no known traces of african-american heritage. >> rachel is clearly white as we are. >> she has not ex-plannedplained why she has disguised herself and been deceptive about her ethnicity the way she has tried to represent herself as some one who she is not. that's what its concerning to us. >> dolezal went to howard university as a graduate student and hired as part time professor in washington teaching africaner studies. >> when it comes to hair hair is for black women much more than just an aesthetic. >> she should know often experimenting with natural hair styles. she is an artist painting works that depect the struggles of people of col

he told me he's not upset by dolezal's actions and decisions. he said the naacp is made up of many different races and religions. reporting live in the sat center david spunt cbs3 "eyewitness news". >>> david, thank you very much. >>> a man who robbed a pharmacy and carjacked a priest in camden county is still on the loose tonight. police say that that man got away with prescription drugs from the rite aid in haddonfield haddonfield. they say that he pulled a gun inside the store carjack the priest in the parking lot later abandoned the car and ran off on foot. the man is described as a white male about 6-foot two 200 pounds. if you have any information on who that is, you're asked to call police. >>> in monmouth county a neptune police officer charged with shooting his ex-wife to death in front of their september-year-old daughter. this happened on swall avenue in asbury park this morning. investigators say philip side dell fired several shots into tamara's car after a chase. he then put the gown his head and helped police at bay before he late

the dolezal family feud seems to be sparking a new debate tonight about the issue of racial identity. >>> we're finding the answer isn't quite so simple as black and white. our mola lenghi is at howard university where dolezal earned her masters degree. >> reporter: race is a difficult thing to get people to talk about especially on camera to estranger, a stranger, but we asked anyway. >> if you think you're black, why not? >> reporter: can someone be transracial, the idea race is a feeling, that you can connect to a race emotionally, culturally, intellectually or any way other than biologically. >> i understand her need to identify with another race, but i think the whole idea of being transracial is kind of make believe. >> reporter: why? >> because you can't be what you're not. >> reporter: reggie elliott says claiming you're a particular race doesn't make you that race, but he adds you don't need to be of a particular race to identify with the culture within that race. >> can a white woman say that she understands the plight of a black woman? >> she can say it and she may actually

here's how rachel dolezal did it. >> reporter: rachel dolezal was born november 12th 1977, in montanaovided by her parents. while no race is listed this is her mother and father. >> we are her birth parents. we do not understand why she feels it's necessary to misrepresent her ethnicity. >> reporter: rachel says she started to identify as black around age 5, something her parents dismiss. although they say she felt a connection with african-americans at an early age. when she was a teenager her parents adopted four black children. rachel went to college in mississippi and grad school at howard university, a black institution on an art scholar scholarship scholarship. while she didn't identify herself as black on the application because there wasn't an option to her parents believe the school thought she was. >> because her portfolio was all african-american themes they only saw she wasn't black when she arrived. >> eyes were popping when she went to finalize her registration. >> reporter: howard honored the scholarship and married moore. the parents are on either side of the newlyweds

the dolezal family adopted four black children and rachel later nd had a child. couple is now divorced. apparently rachel said she is estranged from her parents due to legal dispute. in an interview, with the "seattle times," rachel dodged questions about her ethnicity. there is a lot of complexity. i don't know everyone would understand that. the controversy set the internet ablaze on twitter angry users twigt under #trendracial. one user saying my problem with transracial, black folks can't decide to be white when the cops raid the pool partyable. a white woman can be a naacp president. >> we know rachel's name. this is a person who made a choice to misrepresentative themselves. in so many ways assuming a black identity paid off. to be black in america, it actually has costs, not payoffs. >> others united under ask rachel asking humorous hypothetical questions. if your mama brought you into this world what else can she do? take you out, b, buy you a kente cloth, c, make you lunch. >> a funny scenario. you have a person pretending to be african-american leading

the story of rachel dolezal, the naacp leader lying about being black.ents saying she's white. >> her two adopted brothers are speaking out, offering their take on their sister. abc's kendis gibson is in spokane, washington this morning. >> reporter: i got the tell you, the more we talk with people in this small town of about 200,000, the more we get the sense they feel duped by the head of the local naacp. in the meantime the root of it all, isn't speaking out. this morning, the adopted brothers of spokane's naacp leader rachel dolezal speaking out. >> she took me aside and told me that to make sure that no one found out where she was from. and that she was going to change her identity. >> reporter: uproar, dolezal making national headlines after this interview went viral. >> are your parents -- are they white? >> reporter: the civil rights activist accused of lying about her race. marking black on a city of spokane job application. >> she did some good, but she did not go about it in the right way. she was white and she was really privileged growing up

when a cbs affiliate asked her last week about her raceza dolezal dodged the question. is >> the cause is justice. what's most important to me isg maintaining the integrity of the. work. >> reporter: but critics say her integrity, not her race, is the issue. kitara mcclure is a community activist that worked with dolezal. >> no one said she didn't do any work in the community. we're just saying you can't stand if a role of leadership and represent our community when you-- when all your statements are questioned over their validity. >> reporter: in 2002, dolezal was a student at howard, a historically black university, filad a lawsuit claiming discrimination because she was white. the suit was dismissed. cornell williams brooks heads the national naacp. >> it's important for us to r focus not on reality tv and all of the questions around those things, but to focus on real issues and real challenges to our democracy. >> reporter: here in spokane city officials are launching an ethics investigation into whether dolezal lied about her race, scott, to be appointed to city co

rachel dolezal has stepped down as the president of the naacp chapter in washington state.round her is not letting up. she told the world she was black but last week her parents came forward to say she's white. erin o'hearn is live at the big board. she's got more. good morning. good morning. this story continues to develop tam and this is 37-year-old rachel dolezal who has seemed to carefully construct a life as a black civil rights activist in the last decade. that world is falling apart following a shocking revelation by her parents that dolezal is actually a white woman who has posed for years as african-american. her parents produced this picture of her as a young girl. you can see with fair skin and straight blond hair. her mother saying she began disguising herself as black after her parents adopted four black children years ago. and dolezal has resigned as president of the local branch of the naacp lost her position as a part time african studies instructor at a local university as well as her job as a freelance newspaper columnist and is a subject of a probe by the

the story of rachel dolezal, the naacp leader lying about being black.ts coming out and saying, their daughter, in fact, is white. >> her two adopted brothers are speaking out, offering their take on the sister and the secret that she asked them to keep. abc's kendis gibson is in spokane, washington, for us this morning. hi kendis. >> reporter: hi paula, hi, dan. the more we talk with people in this relatively small town population of 200,000, the more we get the sense they feel duped by the head of the local naacp. but the person at the center of all of this at the root of it isn't speaking out. at least for now. this morning, the adopted brothers of spokane's naacp leader rachel dolezal speaking out for the first time about the controversy surround her racial identity. >> she took me aside and told me to make sure that no one found out where she was actually from and that she was going to change her identity and for me not to blow her cover. >> uproar. >> reporter: dolezal making national headlines after this interview went viral. >> are your parents -

lady rachel dolezal boom boom! boom! >> larry: why that got nobody my wheelhouse jon?e prepared on the former imf chief getting aquited in prince-- how about that? >> jon: yeah, sure. yeah. >> larry: you know we're going to talk about that crazy white lady come on. come on jon. >> larry: . >> jon: all right, thank you larry have fun. that's our show. here it is your home of zen. >> in the '90s i thought lots of fun tweets so we will start with d who says in the '90s i thought that computers were much easier to use. remember the green flashing you know. >> oh yeah. >> and thought nothing will ever be as cool as crystal meth. captioning sponsored by comedy central captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org >> larry: tonightly the head of the naacp