Rachel Dolezal 2.0? Black Lives Matter Activist, Shaun King, Outed as White

[unokitty]

It's the second coming of Rachel Dolezal.

Shaun King, a prominent leader in the Black Lives Matter movement, may have just been outed as a white man.

Boasting a vast following on Twitter, a title as justice columnist for a social progressive website, and acquiring a full-ride college scholarship from Oprah Winfrey to Morehouse (an award designated for black men) are the markings which have made King, 35, a go-to source for breaking news on police brutality against African-Americans around the country.

But there seems to be one hitch: He isn't actually black...

Who is Shaun King?

King is a staff writer for Daily Kos, where he often covers topics related to race.

King has also made repeated references to being a victim of racially-motivated crime:

I quickly found myself in the middle of decades old racial tensions and became the focus of constant abuse of the resident rednecks of my school…

A few months later, a group of guys in the school beat me within a few inches of my life. I missed the next 18 months of school recovering from three spinal surgeries and fractures to my face and ribs.

More Damning Details Emerge About Black Lives Matter Activist’s Hate Crime Claim

... witness statements included in a police report for the March 1, 1995 incident show that a student who got into a fight and beat up King claimed he did so after King threatened his ex-girlfriend over a broken CD.

Those details are at stark odds with King’s repeated claims that he was the victim of a brutal attack in which he was kicked with steel-toed boots by a large group of “rednecks.”

King, who rose to prominence as an activist against police brutality following the shooting death of Michael Brown, has maintained during interviews and in a recent self-help book that the attack left him clinging to life, bloodied and with a broken back and ribs. He also said he had to miss 18 months of school and that his attack was the first registered hate crime ever in Kentucky.

But the police report and the detective who investigated the case cast doubt on those claims, too. The report — which characterized King’s injuries as “minor” — said that he only had an abrasion on his cheek and was complaining about some pain in his back and ribs.

Shaun King’s birth certificate was reportedly garnered and published on Re-NewsIt. The official birth record states that both of the Black Lives Matter activist’s parents are white. King has reportedly maintained that his father was black. A police report stemming from the physical attack King reported while in high school also reportedly lists his race as white.

What's your opinion?
Is this Rachel Dolezal 2.0? Or, is this different?

Does it matter when a high profile black lives matter activist lies about his race or being the victim of a 'hate' crime?

Speculation about why people like Rachel Dolezal and Shaun King would lie about their race?

Uno

 

[Ackmed]

If all true, I think it is silly and all they want is attention. Notice his rise to fame was after Brown caused his own death, and he jumped on the bandwagon.

 

[PokerGuy]

Another Dolezal --- a liar and idiot who seeks to gain followers/power/influence by conning simpletons.

 

[CPA]

A liar from DailyKos? You don't say?

Yes, it's the male version of that idiot Dolezal.

 

[Moonbeam]

I wonder if a talent for mimicry is a genetic survival trait.

And imagine how much more effective a person would be fighting racial discrimination if one didn't suffer from any ill effects acquired by suffering from it.

 

[Svnla]

Speculation about why people like Rachel Dolezal and Shaun King would lie about their race?

Uno

Why?

Here is one:

acquiring a full-ride college scholarship from Oprah Winfrey to Morehouse (an award designated for black men)

 

[TheGardener]

Racial Identity is a right!

 

[PokerGuy]

Speculation about why people like Rachel Dolezal and Shaun King would lie about their race?

Well, for one thing, he lied and got a full ride scholarship out of it. That's plenty of reason. In the bigger picture, it's very hard to claim victimhood and gain SJW cred if you can't say you've suffered the same hardships as others in the "movement".

 

[ivwshane]

Well, for one thing, he lied and got a full ride scholarship out of it. That's plenty of reason. In the bigger picture, it's very hard to claim victimhood and gain SJW cred if you can't say you've suffered the same hardships as others in the "movement".

I don't have a problem with people who identify with a particular race but the above is certainly an issue. He potentially took away an opportunity for a real black person to get ahead and that's pretty messed up.
Him helping a movement that might not apply to him is a non issue though.

 

[JSt0rm]

just one drop

 

[BoberFett]

It doesn't matter if he invented a story about a past filled with abuse because of his race. It's the message that's important.

 

[Londo_Jowo]

just one drop

So are you saying George Zimmerman was actually a Black Hispanic? After all his great grandfather was black.

 

[Exophase]

After two BLM activists protested at a Bernie Sanders rally there has been a lot of accusations of racism towards anyone who would dare to criticism them. The idea being that white people have no business criticizes anything a black person does in the name of activism. And if they do it's racist.

I'll be looking forward to seeing how the same people react to this.

 

[brycejones]

Well, for one thing, he lied and got a full ride scholarship out of it. That's plenty of reason.

This is a legit concern if true.

 

[unokitty]

After two BLM activists protested at a Bernie Sanders rally there has been a lot of accusations of racism towards anyone who would dare to criticism them. The idea being that white people have no business criticizes anything a black person does in the name of activism. And if they do it's racist.

I'll be looking forward to seeing how the same people react to this.

Of course, Voltaire is one of those old dead white guys that may, or may not, be taught in school anymore....

Uno

 

[BoberFett]

Of course, Voltaire is one of those old dead white guys that may, or may not, be taught in school anymore....

Uno

Voltaire needs to check his privilege.

 

[werepossum]

Voltaire needs to check his privilege.

+1

There's one good thing here - progress. Actual, real social progress. In half a century we've gone from black people pretending to be white to avoid racism to white people pretending to be black to profit from claims of racism.

 

[mizzou]

It doesn't matter if he invented a story about a past filled with abuse because of his race. It's the message that's important.

lol nice! I detect your sarcasm

Twitter has become a cesspool of lies...and perhaps it always has been. I really hope news agencies start to distance themselves from what's "trending"...

Any tweet "OMG THEY BRINGING TANKS OUT HERE!" "THEY JUST SHOT 10000 PEOPLE" "I JUST SAW BIGFOOT!" seems like it's not questioned. It gets thrown around, shared, posted on facebook, and then last but not least, given attention with national media as a hot "Trend".

Such a sick and disgusting cycle.

This really really puts into perspective why USA didn't get involved in the arab spring twitter revolutions. I remember reading those tweets and seeing the videos and being utterly shocked and dismayed at our lack of intentions of helping...and I vaguely remember a US official stating they are carefully observing the situation and trying to figure out really what is going on. I wonder what really went on now, because Twitter has shown me proof that it's extremely easy to mold your own narrative using specific pieces of news and commentary.

I now will not trust any judgment laid on Twitter or any social media for that matter, until someone objectively reports on it.

 

[MongGrel]

 

[Exophase]

So DailyKos themselves (which as mentioned Shaun King is a staff writer for) actually posted an article raising concerns about him:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/07/24/1405246/-Is-there-something-fishy-about-Shaun-King

The comments section is packed with people dismissing the claims out of hand without any attempt to investigate, or insisting conspiracy is afoot. In fact, there was not a single comment there that wasn't dismissive or defensive. It was topped off by someone calling the author a racist.

Confirmation bias is a powerful thing.

 

[ivwshane]

So DailyKos themselves (which as mentioned Shaun King is a staff writer for) actually posted an article raising concerns about him:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/07/24/1405246/-Is-there-something-fishy-about-Shaun-King

The comments section is packed with people dismissing the claims out of hand without any attempt to investigate, or insisting conspiracy is afoot. In fact, there was not a single comment there that wasn't dismissive or defensive. It was topped off by someone calling the author a racist.

Confirmation bias is a powerful thing.

Indeed!

http://www.salon.com/2015/08/19/bla...mself_against_conservative_blackface_charges/

 

[halik]

Silly suburban white people just dying for some cultural identity; this is getting monty-python retarded.

 

[pcgeek11]

Everybody wants to get on the black gravy train.

What a farce.

 

[Exophase]

Indeed!

http://www.salon.com/2015/08/19/bla...mself_against_conservative_blackface_charges/

Most of his defense is more ad hominem and doubling down on what insisting things without supply anything else, but in particular the crux of the matter (are his parents actually white?) is defended with this tweet:

"32. Out of LOVE for my family, I've never gone public with my racial story because it's hurtful, scandalous, and it's MY STORY."

I don't know what that's supposed to mean exactly, but unless the birth certificate showing up completely faked his father's name (and surely he would have said that) then his father is almost certainly a white man. I mean, there's only one person with that name and age in the state he was born in.

Now maybe he didn't know anything about his father and for some reason his mother lied about him being black. In that case it'd hardly be his fault.

Oh and the argument that calling a 10th grader "boy" is clearly proof that witnesses were racist (and identified him as black) is off the charts stupid. And no, that account isn't being used as proof that he isn't black, it's being used to cast doubt on his claims that he was beaten half to death by a mob of self-identified rednecks (is this something anyone actually calls themselves?) for the crime of being black. The article also left out the part about the lack of documentation of this being a registered hate crime. But well, it left out a lot of pertinent things.

 

[ivwshane]

So you ignored the other evidence and stuck to the tweets?

Confirmation bias indeed.

Most of his defense is more ad hominem and doubling down on what insisting things without supply anything else, but in particular the crux of the matter (are his parents actually white?) is defended with this tweet:

"32. Out of LOVE for my family, I've never gone public with my racial story because it's hurtful, scandalous, and it's MY STORY."

I don't know what that's supposed to mean exactly, but unless the birth certificate showing up completely faked his father's name (and surely he would have said that) then his father is almost certainly a white man. I mean, there's only one person with that name and age in the state he was born in.

Now maybe he didn't know anything about his father and for some reason his mother lied about him being black. In that case it'd hardly be his fault.

Oh and the argument that calling a 10th grader "boy" is clearly proof that witnesses were racist (and identified him as black) is off the charts stupid. And no, that account isn't being used as proof that he isn't black, it's being used to cast doubt on his claims that he was beaten half to death by a mob of self-identified rednecks (is this something anyone actually calls themselves?) for the crime of being black. The article also left out the part about the lack of documentation of this being a registered hate crime. But well, it left out a lot of pertinent things.