The Breakdown with Shaun King

I see a battle unfolding of some people saying we need to stop focusing on art and symbols and put all of our focus on systems and substance. I understand the critique. But let me try to unpack and explain how symbols support systems. It all matters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today I want to take a moment to really share my heart and soul about anti-Semitism in 2020. I also want to tackle the questions I have received about why more Black people are not fighting against it right now. I think I understand at least part of the answer. It's capacity. Let me unpack and explain it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Over 25% of all people killed by American police were having a mental health emergency. In some states, it's over 50%. Every study out shows that a super-majority of Americans want somebody other than police showing up to mental health emergencies. Let's talk about how we get it done. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today is Rai's 39th birthday! We're out celebrating but I wanted to tell you about a big organizing victory we had this week! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The hypocrisy is on full display. It has now been nearly 4 months since Breonna Taylor was murdered and not a single soul in the whole state of Kentucky can find it in them to arrest and charge a single police officer. But last night, 100 peaceful protestors were charged with felonies for sitting down with their legs crossed. This system can clearly charge who it wants, when it wants. If you liste...

Joe Biden just released the 2.0 version of his policy plan for criminal justice reform. He refuses to end qualified immunity and refuses to stand for the legalization of marijuana. It's literally worse than the 1.0 version of every leading presidential candidate. He needs to go ahead and work on plan 3.0. This isn't good enough. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A healthy debate is underway between the purists in the abolitionist community who are arguing that the men who murdered Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, and Breonna Taylor should not be arrested or sent to prison and others of us who believe that we can completely dismantle the unjust systems of our country while simultaneously using the current laws to the best of our ability. Let's talk about it. L...

Today I want us to talk about the hanging death of Robert Fuller. It was just officially ruled a suicide. I've looked at the results. I need us to understand that it can be simultaneously true that we live in a constant state of racial terror AND we have real mental health challenges that we need to discuss. Today, I want to tear down some walls and have an open conversation with you about all of...

The world knows her as Trayvon Martin's mother. And she embraces that. But Sybrina Fulton is more than her greatest moment of pain. Now, after 7 years of fearless advocacy for victims of gun violence and racial injustice, she's running for office in Miami! Let's help make that happen! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Over 130,000 Americans have already died from the coronavirus. Now, it is surging across the country. Today, more than anything else, I am begging you to take it seriously. I've seen the costs up close and personal. Trust me - you don't want this thing in your life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Did you see the video of the white man LOSING it on an elderly woman working at Costco because he was asked to wear a mask? That rage and that fragility were familiar. We've seen it all before. Today, let's talk about the true costs of white rage, white fragility, and toxic masculinity. It's deadly. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

30 years ago, a group of people in one American city decided that they could do a better job than police at handling mental health and homelessness. So they built the solution and hundreds of thousands of 911 calls are now routed to their team. Listen and learn more. We can do this nationwide. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Wednesday we launched Truth, Justice, and Reconciliation Commissions in 3 of America's largest cities. Today you can hear from the DA's who will be helping to lead the process. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today I want to teach you one simple fact. It is the foundation for most of the work that I do. And I need you to understand the size and scope of the problem we're facing. The United States is the single most incarcerated nation in the entire history of the world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The thing we call the justice system in this country is not broken. It's firing on all cylinders. So we must build new systems and new pathways to justice. Today, we are beginning just that. Learn more and join us at TJRC.org Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

 It costs hundreds of millions of dollars. They have not stopped a single school shooting. And the police are brutalizing Black, Brown, and Native American children from coast to coast. They are handcuffing and arresting them. We must interrupt the school to prison pipeline. Here's how. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Studies show that support for the Black Lives Matter Movement has doubled since 2016. Even a majority of white people now say that they support the movement and its goals - which is groundbreaking. But what are we going to do with this momentum? Let's talk about it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Shaun wants to introduce us all to one of his favorite people currently running for office: Cori Bush. On today's episode, he interviews Cori so that we can hear for ourselves what makes her so special. And even though she is running for office in Missouri, you can volunteer for her campaign WHEREVER YOU ARE. Let's go! CoriBush. Org Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For my own safety, and the safety of my family, I had to expose this today. Here I include their names, their death threats and plans, and more. Who are you supposed to turn to in a moment like this? Police? The NYPD? The FBI? We felt like exposing them publicly was our best tool today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last night breakthrough leaders won elections across the country in the Democratic primaries. That's great news! But why is the Democratic Party fighting against them tooth and nail? Let's talk about it! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yesterday I started a firestorm by saying that statues of the blonde-haired, blue-eyed Jesus-figure should be taken down just like the monuments of slaveholders. The problem is that for tens of millions of white people, it's necessary for that Jesus, that Savior, to be white. And it has been used as a tool of oppression for hundreds of years. It's a problem. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit...

Last night, I read a brand new study on American policing and it has one stat that I think is the single most important stat of the year in American policing. I need you to learn it. I think it's so big that it will become a household stat that all of us who want serious change will memorize and quote from this point forward. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Something is happening in San Francisco that is truly revolutionary. I honestly didn't think it was possible. It's never been done before. But now we must do it all over the country. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today I want to share a life lesson. I use it the best I can. Sometimes I fail, but this lesson has helped to keep me and my family whole for at least 10 years. I hope it helps you as much as it has helped me. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices