US race activist Rachel Dolezal tells of troubled life

Tears flowed on a small stage of the Johannesburg Theatre yesterday as controversial American activist Rachel Dolezal spoke about being shamed for trying to be an advocate for black rights after her parents outed her for being white.

Dolezal also spoke of how she had not wanted fame, even as she promoted her memoir In Full Colour, which was available for sale to the 100 or so guests at the event.

The event organiser, Bishop Clyde Ramalaine of the Quest for Non Racial South African Society Dialogue, said their objective was "to help and assist decent and helpful dialogue on a subject that is very polarising, which is race and identity".

Dolezal spoke about the physical and emotional abuse she suffered at the hands of her parents, former husband and the community of Spokane, in the US.

"Everybody jumped on social media to mock me, to shame me without having any information about my story," Dolezal said.

"And the most heartbreaking thing for me was that my sister did not get justice, but I didn't want to put her business out there until her case was finally fully dismissed," she continued, speaking about the case of rape her sister opened against her brother.

Dolezal claimed the reason her parents exposed her was because of the case against their son.

"People have had a lot of questions about me and about my personal life. And I answer all those questions in my book, in my memoir. If you are really curious, you can go there," she said.

Adding that her case was a "bit unorthodox", Dolezal said: "Race is something that affects us all. It's a global issue.

"Decolonisation of the mind is something that each individual has to contend with and people as groups have to contend with through laws and policies.

"The ways in which I have healed from my painful past may look a little odd to other people, but we can't really understand until we have heard the whole story of a personal journey," she said.