As evidenced in this discussion, a growing body of scholarship distinguishes and analyzes multiple dimensions that comprise the concept of race. Increasingly, race is observed to be experienced not primarily as an identity, but as constructed through a variety of sometimes conflicting dimensions. In her article, “The Multiple Dimensions of Race,” Roth (2016) offers three categories on how individuals’ race can be determined: first, by how individuals self-identify their race, second, how their race is perceived by others, and finally, how these individuals believe they are perceived by others. Roth (2016) asserts that these experiences are not necessarily the same as skin color or racial ancestry, and yet define how race is experienced and confirmed. …show more content…
In my application and discussion of the formation of race as illuminated by Roth’s (2016) categories, I review specific selections from three primary texts to examine Dolezal’s assertions of blackness. Specifically, I study statements from her interview with Allison Samuels, writer of the Vanity Fair article “Rachel Dolezal’s True Lies,” her interview with MSNBC’s Melissa Harris-Perry, and her interview with Matt Lauer on the Today Show. By determining the construction of race as self-classified, observed, and reflected, I propose that Dolezal’s actions and statements can be considered through a new framework that settles the muddled construction of race into identifiable categories. I additionally argue that a fourth dimension could be added to the construction of race set forth by Roth (2016); that race can be formulated through intentional political