"Democracy Now!" looks at the growing national debate over racial identity sparked by the story of Rachel Dolezal. A Washington state civil rights advocate and educator, Dolezal resigned her post as president of the Spokane chapter of the NAACP on Monday amid reports she falsely identified as black.

The controversy began when Dolezal's parents told reporters their daughter is white, and shared photographs of her as a child. On Tuesday, Dolezal broke her silence, saying she has identified as black since a young age. "Democracy Now!" speaks with Jelani Cobb, associate professor of history and director of the Africana Studies Institute at the University of Connecticut.

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