The writer and activist joins Jo Ann on KBOO. Shaun King offers an articulate and historically grounded take on the most pressing problems of the day. This generation has its own challenges—challenges for which we need real and applicable solutions. Instead of wondering who we’d be and what we’d do if we were alive in the 60s—or assuming progress will just march along, without our help—King asks us to see our present place in the modern movement for a more equitable world. If every generation operates on a set of principles, then we need to judge our own by looking, clearly and without rose-colored glasses, on the values we live by. As King argues, it’s not enough to be just a little bit better. In fact, that’s never been enough. We must each ask ourselves, "what's my best contribution to this world today?"
In addition to his work with the New York Daily News, Shaun King is a political commentator for the Tom Joyner Morning Show. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife and their five young kids.
King attended Morehouse College, a private, historically black men's college in Atlanta, Georgia, where he majored in history.[7] Midway through his education, he had to take a medical leave.[8]Upon his return, he was named an Oprah Winfrey Scholar by Morehouse. Oprah scholars are given financial support and are required to maintain their grade point average and do community service.[9] King fulfilled his community service requirement by tutoring and mentoring students at Franklin Lebby Stanton Elementary School in Atlanta.[7] After graduation in 2002, King was a research assistant for Morehouse history professor Alton Hornsby Jr.
King has written extensively about incidents in the Black Lives Matter movement, gaining prominence during the events following 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.[31][32]
King became a contributing blogger for the politically liberal website the Daily Kos in September 2014.[33] 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.[34] In August 2015, he launched Justice Together, an organization to identify police brutality and lobby local politicians for change.[35] To the surprise of many of the group's members, King unilaterally disbanded the organization in the fall of 2016. [36]
King announced that he would leave the Democratic Party after the 2016 election due to allegations of corruption and lack of neutrality in the party during the primaries.[37]
In September 2016, King proposed an Injustice Boycott for later that year in December.
- KBOO