Rachel Dolezal

Birth Name: Rachel Anne Dolezal

Place of Birth: Lincoln County, Montana, U.S.

Date of Birth: November 12, 1977

Ethnicity: Czech, German, Swedish, English, Dutch

Rachel Dolezal is an American civil rights activist, Africana studies instructor, NAACP member, and multimedia artist. She was President of the Spokane, Washington chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People from 2014 until her resignation on June 15, 2015. She has changed her name to Nkechi Amare Diallo, and was also known as Rachel Moore during her marriage.

Rachel had presented herself publicly as a black woman for many years. In June 2015, Rachel’s parents stated that she has no African/African-American ancestry.

Rachel is the daughter of Ruthanne (Schertel) and Lawrence Albert Dolezal. She has Czech, German, Swedish, English, and Dutch ancestry. All of her grandparents and great-grandparents were listed as “White” on United States Censuses. Rachel has a biological brother, academic and writer Joshua Dolezal, as well as four adopted siblings. Rachel was raised in Troy, Montana, in the Pentecostal faith; her family had been missionaries. She has two children, including a son with her former husband Kevin Moore. All of her adopted siblings are black, as was her former husband.

Rachel’s paternal grandfather is Herman A. Dolezal (the son of Adolph A. Dolezal and Sophia F. Kohout). Herman was born in Nebraska. Adolph was born in Nebraska, to a Czech father, Charles J. Doležal, and a German mother, Marie T. Sophia was also born in Nebraska, to Czech parents, Anton Kohout and Mary.

Rachel’s paternal grandmother is Georgianna A. “Peggy” Boomer (the daughter of Roy Allen Boomer and Eyra A. Rhoades). Roy was the son of George Allen Boomer and Anna Margaret Diedrich. Eyra was the daughter of Samuel Fleming Rhoades and Hulda Kittie Mott.

Rachel’s maternal grandfather is Rupert Antony Schertel (the son of Max Anton Schertel and Anna Johanson). Rupert was born in Washington. Max was German. Anna was Swedish.

Rachel’s maternal grandmother is Dorcas Mussell (the daughter of Jules LaVerne Mussell and Addie Catherine Bunt). Dorcas was born in Idaho. Jules was the son of Jacob Mussell, who was Canadian, from Merrickville-Wolford, Leeds and Grenville United Counties, Ontario, and of Ada Norton. Rachel’s great-grandmother Addie was the daughter of John Bunt and Nancy Ann Royse.

Rachel once stated that she is of “African-American, Native American, German, Czech, Swedish, Jewish and Arabic” ancestry. Her parents also stated that she has some Native American ancestry. It is not clear if this Native American, Jewish, and/or Arabic ancestry has been verified/documented. A thorough genealogical search indicates that Rachel does not have any Native American, Jewish, or Arab heritage, at least not within the reasonably recent past.

Sources: An article about some of Rachel’s ancestry – http://www.dailymail.co.uk

Genealogy of Rachel Dolezal – https://www.geni.com

Genealogy of Rachel Dolezal (focusing on her father’s side) – http://4.bp.blogspot.com

Rachel’s paternal grandfather, Herman A. Dolezal, on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org

Rachel’s paternal great-grandparents, Roy Allen Boomer and Eyra A. Rhoades, on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org

Rachel’s maternal grandfather, Rupert Antony Schertel, on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org

Rachel’s maternal great-grandparents, Jules LaVerne Mussell and Addie Catherine Bunt, on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org