The Rachel Divide gives us a fascinating look at the life and downfall of Rachel Dolezal, the former president of the National Association For The Advancement Of Colored People in Spokane, Washington, who resigned in June, 2015, after it was revealed that she wasn’t black.
The probing documentary is now available to watch on Netflix. But considering that its director Laura Brownson filmed Dolezal from August 2015 for 2 years I was intrigued to get a further update on Dolezal. I got just that when I spoke to Brownson on Thursday, taking this opportunity to ask the filmmaker what Dolezal is doing now.
“Rachel is not working. She still struggles every month to pay the rent. Really the only way she has been able to keep the lights on and food on the table is doing hair for her clients. She really struggles.”
“She has not been able to find real employment since June of 2015. Which is a long time. She continues to do her art and those are her two outlets for any kind of financial security.”
As well as focusing on Dolezal’s past, her upbringing and the circumstances that ultimately led to her undoing, “The Rachel Divide” does a superb job of highlighting the impact and strife that her plight had on her two sons and her immediate family, too.
Of course, Dolezal was the architect of her own downfall, and The Rachel Divide shows that she still ignites controversy wherever she goes, but it is impossible not to feel sorry for those closest to her.
The film is only going to bring her to the fore once again. But whether it will actually draw a line under everything that has gone before and allow Rachel Dolezal and her family to finally build a new life for themselves very much remains to be seen.
Considering what unfolds in the documentary, and the uproar that greeted its mere release, it still seems unlikely.
