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Shaun King

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Shaun King
BornUnited States
NationalityAmerican
Alma materMorehouse College
Occupation(s)Writer, civil rights activist

Shaun King is an American writer and civil rights activist noted for his involvement in the Black Lives Matter movement. Since September 2014, he has been a contributing writer for Daily Kos.

In August 2015, a Breitbart writer claimed that King had misrepresented his biracial identity based on his birth certificate, which lists white parents. King responded that the allegations were "lies," stating that the man listed on his birth certificate is not his biological father, and that his biological father is a "light-skinned black man."

Education

King received a scholarship from Oprah Winfrey to attend Morehouse College, a private historically black liberal arts school for men located in Atlanta, Georgia.

Activism

King has written extensively about incidents in the Black Lives Matter movement, gaining prominence during the shooting of Michael Brown. King wrote an article analyzing the Brown crime scene, and argued that the evidence suggested that officer Darren Wilson's life was not in danger during the shooting.

King became a contributing blogger for the politically liberal website, the Daily Kos, in September 2014. His contributions to the website have centered around civil rights issues and violence in Ferguson, Missouri and Charleston, South Carolina as well as allegations of police brutality toward the black community.

King started Justice Together, an organization whose stated goal is ending police brutality.

Fundraising

King has raised money for multiple causes including relief work in Haiti, the Tamir Rice shooting, and various incidents where the Black Lives Matter movement has been involved. He has started HopeMob.com as a crowdfunding site for charity as well as Twitchange.com, a fundraising site where celebrities auction tweet mentions for charity.

Following the 2010 Haiti earthquake, King raised $540,000 for relief that was designated to build the Miriam Center, a home for disabled Haitian orphans.

Controversy regarding funds

Through the fund-raising website, YouCaring.com, King raised $60,000 for the family of Tamir Rice. Rice, a 12-year old resident of Cleveland, Ohio, was killed in 2014 by two Cleveland city policemen after they responded to a complaint "of a male black sitting on a swing and pointing a gun at people". After learning the child had not been buried as of five months after the the shooting and the child's mother had moved into a homeless shelter, King started the fund to assist the Rice family. The family's attorney, Timothy Kucharski was alerted to the existence of the fund, however, neither he nor the Rice family had heard of King or the fundraiser nor had any money been received. Eventually, the money raised was seized by the court and placed into a trust for the Rice family. King and Benjamin Crump then started a second charity drive for the Rice family, with the proceeds going directly to the family. An additional $25,000 was raised.

Personal life

King identifies as biracial and has written extensively about his experiences as a minority, including his experience of what he considered a hate crime assault. Describing the assault, King stated a "dozen 'rednecks'" had beat him and the injuries caused him to miss a portion of two years of high school due to multiple spinal surgeries. The detective who investigated the case in 1995 described King's injuries as "minor". The associated police report noted that the incident revolved around a fight involving a student who defended his girlfriend after being allegedly threatened by King. A band teacher, two fellow students from King's high school, as well as King's wife, posted their recollection of the event to Facebook, backing King's account. An unnamed family member told CNN's Don Lemon that the fight was because King was a white guy dating a black girl. A number of other eye witnesses have described the assault as clearly being motivated by King being perceived as black, describing how he was routinely attacked with racial slurs because of his curly black hair.

Questions regarding race

In August 2015, Milo Yiannopoulos, a writer for Breitbart reported on posts by blogger Vicki Pate, who claimed King had misrepresented his biracial identity based on his birth certificate, which was part of the public record and lists white parents. Yiannopolous questioned if King had misled Oprah Winfrey by accepting an Oprah Scholarship to Morehouse College, a historically black school"

King denounced the allegations as "lies", writing in a blog post on DailyKos and in a statement to The Washington Post that his birth certificate did not reflect his biological parentage, saying: "I refuse to speak in detail about the nature of my mother's past, or her sexual partners, and I am gravely embarrassed to even be saying this now, but I have been told for most of my life that the white man on my birth certificate is not my biological father and that my actual biological father is a light-skinned black man". King says he received a full scholarship to Morehouse due to his grades and leadership skills, and that "I wasn’t appropriating or faking, but living out my life."

Comparisons have been drawn between King and Rachel Dolezal, former NAACP leader whose parents said she’s white, though she identifies as black. King’s wife, Rai King, says: "He’s no Rachel Dolezal. What’s white about him is white, and what’s black about him is black and always has been from the time he was a child. There’s no spray tan, no fake black hairstyles, no attempt to make himself appear any more ethnic than he already does." His wife wrote a Facebook post supporting Shaun, saying that "Regarding his race, he has never lied. Not once," and that his life "is a unique expression of this country’s sordid and ridiculous history with race." Several of King's classmates and friends have backed King's position. Corey Richardson, a Morehouse classmate, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “He is black. A light-skinned black guy. That is what he is."

References

  1. ^ Lowery, Wesley; Miller, Michael E. (August 20, 2015). "Activist Shaun King says man on birth certificate isn't his biological father". Washington Post.
  2. ^ Doug Criss and Dana Ford (August 20, 2015). "Black Lives Matter activist Shaun King addresses race reports". CNN. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
  3. ^ Southall, Ashley (August 19, 2015). "Activist Shaun King Denies Claims He Lied About Race and Assault". The New York Times.
  4. Lartey, Jamiles (August 21, 2015). "Black Lives Matter activist refutes allegations that he lied about his race". The Guardian.
  5. "Morehouse College - Mission". Morehouse College. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
  6. "Ripple Effect of One Act of Kindness - Oprah Scholarship". Oprah.com.
  7. Thomas, Dexter (July 22, 2015). "Suspicion over 'glitches' in Sandra Bland arrest video shouldn't surprise us". Los Angeles Times.
  8. Kos (October 1, 2014). "Meet our newest writer, Shaun King". Daily Kos. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
  9. "Search results from Daily Kos". Daily Kos. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
  10. Ross, Chuck (August 17, 2015). "More Damning Details Emerge About Black Lives Matter Activist's Hate Crime Claim". The Daily Caller.
  11. "Justice Together". Justice Together.
  12. ^ Thorpe, Devin. "Shaun King Brings Hope(Mob) to Crowdfunding". Forbes.
  13. Gross, David (September 16, 2010). "Pay for celebs to tweet for you (and charity)". CNN.
  14. ^ Audi, Tamara (September 23, 2010). "Celebrities Auction Tweets to Raise Money for Haitian Orphans - WSJ". The Wall Street Journal.
  15. "TheGrio's 100: Shaun King, leveraging social media for greater good". theGrio.
  16. "Tamir Rice Shooting - Cleveland Police Dispatch Radio". YouTube. November 24, 2014.
  17. Izadi, Elahe; Holley, Peter (November 26, 2014). "Video shows Cleveland officer shooting 12-year-old Tamir Rice within seconds". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
  18. Tom McCarthy in New York, Tamir Rice: video shows boy, 12, shot 'seconds' after police confronted child Guardian.com. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
  19. Lowery, Wesley (May 4, 2015). "As investigation enters fifth month, Tamir Rice's mother has moved into a homeless shelter". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
  20. "Funds Raised for Rice Family Get Caught in Legal Morass; New Fundraising Effort Under Way". Cleveland Scene.
  21. ^ Wesley Lowery (May 5, 2015). "Online activists raised $60K for Tamir Rice's family — so where did all that money go?". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
  22. Anderson, Troy (March 2012). "Innovative entrepreneur Shaun King has mastered the art of using social media for social good". Rebel Magazine. Mediabistro.
  23. Ross, Chuck (July 21, 2015). "Ferguson Activist's Hate Crime Claim Disputed By Police". The Daily Caller.
  24. German Lopez. "The Shaun King controversy, explained - Vox". Vox.
  25. "Black Lives Matter activist, Shaun King, might be white". NY Daily News.
  26. Cris, Doug (August 20, 2015). "Is Black Lives Matter's Shaun King lying about his race?". CNN.
  27. German Lopez (August 21, 2015). "The Shaun King controversy, explained". Vox.com. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  28. Stableford, Dylan (August 20, 2015). "Shaun King: 'White man on my birth certificate is not my biological father'". Yahoo!.
  29. ^ King, Shaun (August 20, 2015). "Race, love, hate, and me: A distinctly American story". DailyKos.
  30. Perez, Chris (August 19, 2015). "Black Lives Matter leader accused of 'pulling a Dolezal'". NY Post. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
  31. Ross, Janel (21 August 2-15). "The curious case of Shaun King, blogger and conservative media target". The Washington Post. Retrieved 24 August 2015. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  32. Jamison, Shantell. "Rachel Dolezal II? The Case of Shaun King". Jet. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
  33. Morrison, Aaron (August 19, 2015). "Is Shaun King White? Black Lives Matter Activist, Writer Responds To Conservatives' Claims He Is Another 'Rachel Dolezal'". International Business Times. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
  34. "Shaun King's Wife Defends Her Husband: "He's No Rachel Dolezal"". Hollywood Reporter. August 20, 2015. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
  35. Thomas, Dexter (August 20, 2015). "Shaun King is no Rachel Dolezal: Look who's calling him white". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
  36. Shaun King's Wife, Rai King, Takes to Facebook to Shut Down Rumors. Brammer, Imani. Essence, August 21, 2015
  37. Bentley, Rosalind; Suggs, Ernie (August 20, 2015). "Activist Shaun King says he hasn't lied about his race". Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

External links

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