Shaun King
Shaun King is a civil rights activist for the 21st Century. Previously named in Time magazine's top 25 most influential people on the internet, Shaun uses his vast social media following to advocate for justice and fundraise for the families of victims' of police brutality and discrimination. He posts videos and information about racially motivated crimes to help find the perpetrators. He’s headed social media campaigns which led to the identification and arrest of the men responsible for the assault of DeAndre Harris as well as exposing information in seeking justice for the killings of Ahmaud Arbery and Michael Brown. He heads a number of organisations focussed on changing criminal justice - Real Justice helping to elect prosecutors who support criminal justice reform in the United States and the North Star, a crowd funded independent, media platform for liberation-journalism.
A quick google search will throw up an array of opinions and criticisms around Shaun King. He has had to repeatedly defend himself against accusations such as mishandling of funds, disinformation and a lack of accountability and retaliating harshly to naysayers. He has also had to defend his racial identity.
In this conversation Annie finds out about the man behind the name. His views on the controversies, the double edged sword of social media, which can be used for good but also backfire. Shaun’s passion for activism stems from a traumatic experience in his childhood which changed the course of his life forever. In this episode you will get a sense of the man behind the news stories - his beginnings, his motivation, his regrets and his hope for change.
Content Warning: this episode references suicide and includes explicit references to racism and racially motivated crimes.
You can order Shaun’s book here called “Make Change: How to Fight Injustice, Dismantle Systemic Oppression, and Own Our Future”
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Make-Change-Injustice-Dismantle-Oppression/dp/0358048001
You can follow Shaun on instagram and twitter @shaunking
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