Shaun King

This article is about the activist. For other people with the same name, see Shaun King (disambiguation).

Shaun King
King in 2023
Born
Jeffery Shaun King

(1979-09-17) September 17, 1979 (age 45)
Franklin County, Kentucky, U.S.
Alma materMorehouse College (BA)
Arizona State University (MA)
Occupations
  • Writer
  • activist
  • entrepreneur
Political partyIndependent (2016–present)
Democratic (until 2016)[1]
MovementBlack Lives Matter
Spouse
Rai King
​
(m. 2001)​
Children5
Websiteshaunking.org

Jeffery Shaun King (born September 17, 1979) is an American writer and activist. He uses social media to promote causes of social justice, particularly Black Lives Matter in the United States.

King was raised in Kentucky and received his undergraduate degree from Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia.[2] After briefly teaching high school civics, he became a pastor. In 2008, he founded the Courageous Church in Atlanta and led it for four years. During this time, King launched a number of internet campaigns, including HopeMob.org, which he co-founded with Chad Kellough.[3] He later received a master's degree from Arizona State University. As a writer, King has previously been a regular contributor to Daily Kos, the New York Daily News, and The Young Turks. In 2018, King co-founded the Real Justice PAC, and launched The North Star website. In 2020, he founded the non-profit group Grassroots Law Project.

On numerous occasions, King has faced accusations of fiscal mismanagement and of raising money from donors that does not reach its intended recipients.[4][5][6] In addition, the Grassroots Law Project has been questioned for its high compensation paid to King and his associates, as well as its lack of progress on its main initiative.[7] In 2023, King was involved in further controversy when he falsely claimed to have worked behind the scenes with Hamas and Qatar to secure the release of Israeli hostages during the Israel–Hamas war; the family of the released hostages said that he had "lied" and "fabricated his involvement".[8][9][10]

  1. ^ "Shaun King explains why he thinks the Democratic Party can't be saved". May 26, 2016. Archived from the original on July 7, 2020. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
  2. ^ Rosalind Bentley, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "Shaun King says he hasn't lied about his race". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on January 13, 2019. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
  3. ^ Nicola_A_Menzie (June 6, 2016). "Crowdfunding Site HopeMob Relaunches Without Shaun King and With a New Vision". Medium. Retrieved December 25, 2023.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference dailybeast-Dec2015 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference DailyBeast was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Lowery, Wesley (May 5, 2015). "Online activists raised $60K for Tamir Rice's family – so where did all that money go?". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on August 19, 2015. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
  7. ^ Bredderman, William (September 21, 2022). "Inside Shaun King's Shadowy $6.7 Million Nonprofit". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on October 22, 2022. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference :3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference :4 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).