Rachel Dolezal Has Reportedly Changed Her Legal Name To Nkechi Amare Diallo

When we reported on an upcoming book Rachel Dolezal is releasing next month, there was an off-the-cuff mention to her changing her name. We thought it was a way for her to escape the stigma attached to her Dolezal family name since she apparently can’t get a job, but we didn’t expect this (we probably should have though). According to legal documents obtained by the Daily Mail, Rachel Dolezal has legally changed her name to Nkechi Amare Diallo.

The name is of the Igbo language of Nigeria, and roughly translates to ‘gift of god’. Although Dolezal is not black in any traditional sense of the term, you definitely cannot fault her for putting in the effort. She still believes race should be as fluid a concept as gender. Shortly after changing her name, someone created a change.org petition under the name Nkechi Amare Diallo asking the TED Talks website to post the TEDx talk given by Dolezal that year. There’s no proof they’re the same person, but you can do the math.

When the news broke, many people (especially people of Nigerian descent) took to social media to weigh in on the new name. Dolezal, er, Diallo’s memoir In Full Color is out next month, published under her birth name.