White woman who posed as black civil rights leader 'struggling to make a living'

A woman who posed as a black civil rights activist and lost her job after her parents outed her as a liar claims she is now strapped for cash.

Rachel Dolezal says she is struggling to find a job two years after it was revealed she was a white woman and says she is worried she might become homeless.

The mother-of-two has sold artwork and braids hair to earn money. But she said local colleges have refused to hire her, as have non-profit organisations, government agencies and local grocery stores.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Ms Dolezal said: “I was presented as a con and a fraud and a liar.

“I think some of the treatment was pretty cruel.”

This comes after she was forced to resign as leader of Washington's National Association of the Advancement of Colored People (NCAAP) branch in 2015 after being publicly exposed when her parents told local reporters their daughter was born white.

Ms Dolezal last month changed her name to Nkechi Amare Diallo, the Nigerian term for “gift of God” to give her a better chance of landing a job after her name was blacklisted.

She went on: “Maybe if I applied with a new name, people would see me for the qualifications and expertise on my resume, and not toss my application in the trash based on my name.”

Her actions cause outrage across the United States.

She has since written a memoir describing her ordeal, which is scheduled to be published next week.

The book is called, “In Full Color: Finding My Place in a Black and White World." In it she compares her childhood chores to slave labour and claims she was once forced to eat her own vomit after she couldn’t finish a bowl of oatmeal.

Ms Dolezal was born with blonde hair and freckles and grew up near Troy, Montana, with religious parents where she says she began to change her perspective after her parents adopted four black children.