'I identify as black,' Rachel Dolezal says as she stands by claims

A US woman who quit her role as a civil rights campaigner for ethnic minorities after being exposed as white has given a TV interview saying that she identifies as black and has no regrets.

Rachel Dolezal stepped down as head of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in Spokane, Washington, yesterday, after a local reporter uncovered evidence that she was born to white parents, sparking debate across the world.

The 37-year-old, who had pale skin and blonde hair as a teenager, now has darker skin and sports hairstyles commonly worn by women with Afro hair.

As well as changes to her physical appearance, Dolezal reportedly listed her race as African-American on an application for a local independent commission, which she chairs, and has publicly referred to an older black male friend as her father.

She told NBC's Today show that she began "identifying as black" at around the age of five, when she used a brown crayon to draw self-portraits, and continues to "identify as black".

"It's more complex than being true or false," she said, when pressed on her race.

She said that she was first identified as "transracial" in a newspaper report and never corrected subsequent reports about her civil rights work that described her as black.

Asked how she maintains her darker complexion, she said: "I certainly don't stay out of the sun."

She denied she is "blacking up," telling the show, "I have a huge issue with blackface."

Responding to questions about why she claimed a black man was her father she said: "Any man can be a father, not every man can be a dad."

Despite leaving her position as the NAACP leader in Spokane, Dolezal said that other than a "few interviews I might do differently," she would make the same choices again and described some of the discussions about her as "viciously inhumane".

When asked what her sons would say about her race, Dolezal said one of them recently told her, "'Mom, racially you're human, and culturally you're black.'"

Following her resignation the president of the national NAACP, Cornell William Brooks, criticised Dolezal for "distracting" from the work of the organisation.

"Our members who looked up to her, appreciated her leadership, are pained, very disappointed," said Cornell William Brooks. "This is a distraction from the work."