Proud to be black in spite of being white - a 72-year-old black woman discovered that she was born from white parents.
"I grew up never questioning birth or anything else because it was never told to me that I was born white," she said in a report by Huffingtonpost.
Verda Byrd thought all the while that she was African American because she was raised by black parents who adopted her and was surrounded by black culture and environment throughout her entire life.
"My mother took me to a black hairdresser, and I grew up participating in Martin Luther King marches and eating soul food," she said. "My life was completely immersed in black culture, and why wouldn't it be? For all intents and purposes, I was black."
Byrd who was deemed as a light-skinned black woman was adopted by a wealthy black couple Ray and Edwinna Wagner in Newton, Kansas. However, during her search in 2013 for her biological parents, she discovered that she is a daughter of a white couple identified as Earl and Daisy Beagle.
She also found out that she was born Jeanette Beagle in September 1942 into a family of 10 children. The state of Missouri took the children after Earl walked out on his family and Daisy had a trolley accident and no one can take care of the children.
In spite of the surprising information, Mrs Byrd will not change the way she sees herself, according to Daily Mail. She has no plans of changing her identity or racial identity for that matter.
"I wouldn't go back to my birth name if I had to.. Jeanette Beagle does not fit Verda Byrd.", says Byrd. "I'm comfortable with being a black woman."
Byrd came forward to differentiate herself from Rachel Dolezal, a former NAACP leader who denied being a white woman and pretended to be black.
'She lied about her race,' Byrd said. 'I didn't lie because I didn't know.'
