The Breakdown with Shaun King

Without a doubt, Russia is committing thousands of war crimes against Ukraine. Any common spectator understands this. But right when the United States could desperately use moral authority to call out these war crimes, the world is reminding the US that it, too, has committed war crimes with impunity for generations. Today I will speak on this painful truth - and discuss the interconnectedness of...

You've recently heard me say many times the words of Dr. King that "injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." And I believe our grave inconsistency with this, where we ignore some injustices like they don't even matter, harms us all. I am against police brutality EVERYWHERE. I am against mass incarceration everywhere. And ultimately, that helps us fight smarter and better here. But so...

Today is abbreviated episode of The Breakdown as we rush to help African students and immigrants who are either stuck on the Ukrainian side of the border or virtually lost on the other side once they've crossed over. We're hiring several African students who've crossed over to help us build a database of those who need help. And we're partnering with several brilliant NGO's and donors who will hel...

Over 500,000 refugees have now fled Ukraine in just the past few days alone. In a country that is 99% white, it came as a surprise to many of us to learn that tens of thousands of African immigrants were living, working, and being educated there - and were among those attempting to flee to safety. It was, then, a deep disappointment to see those African immigrants, many with infant children, in fr...

Early this morning it was just announced that Judge Kentanji Brown Jackson will be Joe Biden's nominee to the Supreme Court. Of course, Republicans won't make it easy, but she should be fast tracked to the court. She's not a radical. Trust me, I'd like to see that, but she was the best choice among the finalists Biden leaked to the press. Today I'll unpack her views on policing and mass incarcerat...

Those words from Dr. King, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere" is a life quote for me. I think on it daily. It has guided much of my life for the past 25 years. And for me, today, those words matter more than ever. Can I teach for a moment? Let me unpack and explain for you what I think these words mean. I hate war. I hate what Putin is doing right now to Ukraine. But I see a lo...

All of us have a limited amount of emotional bandwidth to care about the dire conflict between Russia and Ukraine. I'm not asking you to become obsessed (I'm not going to do that either), but today I want to give you 4 practical reasons why you SHOULD care. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One tool of the oppressor is to throw so much oppression your way that you can't possibly be effective at fighting back any of it. For most of the past year, I was irritated by white people organizing to ban what they were calling Critical Race Theory, but I am already committed to so many other causes and fights that I just didn't have the time or focus to make that cause my own. But here's the t...

Last week Amnesty International released a thorough and undeniable 280 page report in which they called Israel's treatment of Palestinians "Apartheid" and a "cruel system of domination" and a "crime against humanity." And 2 things blew my mind. The United States government, like the NFL did against Black coach Brian Flores, denounced the entire report before they even read it. Many mainstream medi...

Happy Valentine's Day everybody! Listen - I know I'm a serious guy, but I just don't talk enough about love. It's such a HUGE part of my life. And today I want to talk about the love of my life and how I'm starting to reconsider something I've been telling myself for a very long time. Also, today is the 3 year anniversary of The North Star! Our original founder is Frederick Douglass and he chose t...

What Joe Biden just announced today makes my BLOOD BOIL! Moments ago it was revealed that after Joe Biden ordered $7 BILLION of money that completely belonged to Afghanistan frozen, that he is now going to give it away to 9/11 victims and random charities. Let me speak plainly. Not a single Afghan served as a hijacker on 9/11. Not 1.You know who did? 15 Saudis? And men from half a dozen other coun...

The Washington Post just announced that last year, 2021 was the deadliest year for police violence they've ever measured in the 6 years since they launched their comprehensive database. It's catastrophic news that confirms our worst fears that mass incarceration itself is exploding right before our eyes. Police violence is but one reliable indicator of this. Today I'll unpack and explain what this...

I feel crazy even having to say this, but if you believed the viral headlines over the past 24 hours that Joe Biden is giving Black people $30 million for new crack pipes, you have believed a lie. Here's the thing - Joe Biden makes enough actual mistakes for us to critique. We don't need to make this up. This past December, public health EXPERTS in his administration announced $30 million for VERY...

The hiring season for NFL head coaches is now over and ONE Black man ended up getting a job - Lovie Smith - who will be taking over in Houston for a Black coach that was fired after only one season. It was thought to be one of worst 2 or 3 coaching jobs available. So now the NFL has 2 Black head coaches in a league that is 70% Black. At the root of it all is ownership. The NFL doesn't have a singl...

Today on @TheBreakdown I want to give you two very important updates on the brutal police execution of Amir Locke and I want to explain why I still believe a total ban on no-knock raids, which are banned in almost every developed nation in the world, still makes a difference here. I see a lot of people saying they don't care if no-knock raids are banned or not because police will still be brutal....

You wouldn't know it from the lack of mentions on social media or in the news, but police violence today is as big a crisis as it was in 2020 and its latest victim was a brilliant young brother named Amir Locke - who was shot and killed within seconds in a no knock raid as he awoke from sleep and struggled to get out from under the covers. Amir was not wanted for a crime. He was not a suspect. He...

What happens in the dark always comes to light. ALWAYS. And for the past 8 years, few people have spread more lies and caused me more trouble than Deray McKesson. It has caused my wife, my kids, my mother, my extended family, and the organizations I lead so much trouble and heartache. This week his co-founders came out to say that he has not only mistreated them and stolen their work, but that he...

Yesterday former NFL Head Coach Brian Flores filed a lawsuit against the NFL and three specific teams for blatant racism and discrimination in their hiring patterns and practices. Today I want to unpack and explain why this was such a bold move for a man that is still actively interviewing for head coaching positions. We've been here before, though. And when Colin Kaepernick took a bold stand in t...

First off, Happy 39th birthday to my dear friend and brother, civil rights attorney, Lee Merritt. Yesterday, primarily because of his objection and guidance, the men who murdered Ahmaud Arbery were denied their plea deal to serve their time in federal prison. Today I will unpack and explain what went down and what happens next! Then, I need you to click on the link in Lee's bio on Instagram to mak...

s you may have seen, the men who murdered Ahmaud Arbery were given a plea deal by the DOJ on federal hate crimes charges and civil rights violations. If the deal is accepted, it will basically amount to these men being allowed to choose where they are imprisoned instead of the Georgia State Prison that they deserve to be in. Let's be clear - these men have denied being racists for 2 years. They ar...

Mobile, Alabama did what cities across the country are doing right now, they drastically increased their police budget over the past 3 years. And guess what happened over that same time period? Murders DOUBLED. Why? Because policing in America is a POST-crime enterprise. They show up AFTER the crime is already complete. And so while the city struggled desperately with poverty, drug addiction, ment...

When I first saw the AP headline that a brand new law legislating white comfort had passed several important hurdles in Florida, I thought it was a spoof. Florida is crazy, but that was NEXT LEVEL. But it wasn't a spoof. In fact, this new law appears to be on the fast track to pass. It makes it illegal for white people to feel uncomfortable when teaching American history and Black history. That al...

First, don't you dare critique this episode without first actually listening to the podcast. Listen, then speak your mind freely. But today on The Breakdown I want to unpack and explain why I think Joe Biden himself was the #1 reason why the voting rights bill failed in the Senate yesterday. Of course Democratic Senators Sinema and Manchin are also to blame. But the President of the United States,...

I actually think it is a natural human response to return ugliness to those who were ugly to you or someone you care about. It feels good. I get it. It's something I have to resist every single day, though, because before you know it, you may be as bad or worse than them. Yesterday I posted a horrible video of openly racist basketball fans in China openly calling former NBA player Sonny Weems a ni...

Last week a woman was pushed onto the train tracks and killed in New York. And immediately people began calling for more police as the solution, but that station was full of police already - including right there where the crime happened. We can solve this problem, and SO many other problems with non-policing solutions, but America's addiction to policing and mass incarceration literally prevents...