The Breakdown with Shaun King

Are you familiar with Rorschach tests? It's where inkblots are shown to people and they are asked to describe what they think they see. And 100 people can see the exact same inkblots and see WILDLY different things. That's absolutely what I see happening now with Kanye West. How you respond to all that he's said and done now says more about you than it does about him. Today I want to discuss two V...

Having a thoughtful, mature, and even difficult conversation about who owns and controls the music industry is COMPLETELY POSSIBLE without it devolving in hate against Jewish people that is so ugly that it causes Neo-Nazis to come out of the woodwork. But Kanye West is not healthy, thoughtful, or mature. And when ANYONE that is unhealthy, immature, and by their own admission - a self-centered narc...

I've been feeling this way. As taxpayers and citizens of this country, we are right to demand that this government - on the local, state, and federal level, do right by us. No telling where we'd be if we didn't fight and force our government to do the right thing. But I've grown to think that far too much of our energy and attention is spent making demands of the government. I'm not saying we stop...

In spite of all of the attention, and all of the pressure we've put on local officials to take Kastellio to the hospital - they continue to refuse to do so and his condition remains dire. Our team @GrassrootsLaw set up a hotline that we need YOU to call immediately. When you call, I will be on the line to talk you through everything and then I will transfer you to local officials on the case. The...

When an argument is completely based on a lie or a false premise - nothing else you say in defense of it matters. I needed to preface what I am about to say with that. Of the hundreds of millions of people that demanded justice and accountability for the brutal murder/lynching of George Floyd, I don't think a single person fought for him because he was our hero. I never heard anyone say this. I ne...

For my ENTIRE life I have said that we need schools that are for us, by us, but to this day we have so few schools in America that have Black and Brown founders AND leaders. @EmberCharter in the heart of Brooklyn IS THAT SCHOOL. And I’m pushing all of my chips in to back and support this beautiful community. If you haven’t already, check out the video about the school on my IG page. And listen to...

I’m struggling to think of an example where we’ve seen almost every single stakeholder on the left, from radical activists all the way to the moderates at the White House all agree on one single political idea…That the racists on the Los Angeles City Council need to resign immediately. We saw some HUGE coalitions emerge in 2020 around convicting people for crimes against Black people. But when hav...

It's Wednesday, and the 3 overtly racist members of the Los Angeles City Council remain in office - clearly refusing to resign. Today I want to unpack and explain at least 2 reasons why I think this is the case. More than anything, I think they are studying the new playbook for politicians from both parties when caught in scandal - which is to WEATHER the storm and refuse to resign. And I think th...

Over the weekend audio clips were released that revealed the OVERT anti-Black racism of Los Angeles City Council members Nury Martinez, Kevin de Leon, and Gil Cedillo. All 3 of them must resign immediately or be removed. Another person involved, a local labor leader, has already done the right thing and stepped down. We have a lot to talk about here - because what their disgusting racism reveals,...

I see hundreds of you asking me, and others, to simply ignore Kanye. I get it. I wish it was that simple, but when someone that influential, spouts so much foolishness across social media and cable television, a public critique is required. What I have learned across 25 years of public leadership is that harmful public rhetoric has to be confronted publicly - as an act of public education. Let me...

This is my first time every saying his name here on the podcast, but DAMN Herschel Walker is a hot mess. Like...that's even an understatement. It's not just that he doesn't have any experience - he also doesn't have any integrity, honesty, ethics, or decency. Or wits. I don't want to blame everything on CTE, but the man can't answer a simple question on most days. His entire family begged him not...

Kareem is a legend. Period. Which is why you won't find LeBron James and other elite Black athletes that Kareem continues to fire harsh critiques against - firing them back - which is probably the right thing to do. But for me, it's sad to see. Instead of being a mentor, advisor, coach, or confidante, Kareem has decided to use his platform to blast young Black athletes - often with over-the-top cr...

From the plantation until today, this country has ALWAYS made room for Black people who are willing to do the bidding and work of white supremacists. ALWAYS. And more than anything, it gives moral and emotional cover for racist and bigoted white people to feel comfortable about their own racist ways. It's a strategy that is literally hundreds of years old. And while 99% of Black people never opt f...

Yesterday a brother I am friends with in the NFL received a brutal concussion. It was hard to watch for a thousand reasons, but when you get to actually know these men as human beings, seeing the physical toll it takes on their brain and body is pretty terrible. And as soon as he received the concussion, I started seeing people online and on television say something about him that I've heard my wh...

In professional sports, it's the job of the team, and of the league, to sometimes protect players from themselves. Their sheer determination to play, and sometimes play injured, can be so strong, that it's up to coaches, medical staff, and league policies to protect players from making bad medical decisions for themselves in the heat of a moment. And that's exactly what just happened to Miami Dolp...

Today our team at the Grassroots Law Project has created a hotline for you to call and express your outrage at the despicable human rights abuses and medical malpractice being committed against a young incarcerated brother who does not deserve any of this. The number is 334.605.8572.And when you call that number, I will be there to talk you through what you need to say and do next. Then save this...

The United States exports a few things around the world. One of them is white supremacy and ultra conservative ideology. The latest recipient? ITALY - which just elected its single most conservative politician since World War II. And what's wild is that she is literally parroting and quoting the exact same talking points we hear from white supremacists in the United States. It's dangerous - and bi...

For the past few days as we've told the story of the egregious human rights violations and criminal neglect of Kastellio Vaughn I see people asking some form of this question...What's REALLY going on with him? Because they are having a hard time believing that a prison would actually treat a man as horribly as they are treating him. Today I want to answer that question very clearly for all of us....

Nationwide protests in Iran are now nearing their second week and they are centered, in great part, around something very familiar to us here in the United States - police brutality and mass incarceration - and the death of a young woman in police custody. We've seen that our whole lives here in the US - and today I want to unpack and explain 3 reasons why I think we should care about these injust...

In spite of all that 2020 meant for civil rights in this country, 2021 was the worst year for police violence ever measured. Why? How? Today I want to unpack and explain the 3 reasons why, in spite of our very best efforts, police violence continues to actually get worse. Does this mean we shouldn't fight against it? HELL NO. If we didn't fight against it, I have no idea how much worse it would be...

This past June, at his own place of business, at least 4 men brutally attacked, beat, stomped, and shot the revered 51 year old music executive and entrepreneur, Chaka Zulu, outside of his own place of business. I have known Chaka for years and he is literally one of the most peaceful, respectful, kind, and outgoing men I've ever met. When I learned the news of what happened to Chaka, like thousan...

I didn't think I needed to explain this, but I clearly do. What Republicans are doing right now - lying to undocumented immigrants - who've often escaped treacherous conditions - and are desperate and exhausted - and tricking them into being flown and bussed all over the country - is dead wrong. It's immoral. It's unethical. And it appears to actually be illegal. And here's what I know - Florida G...

This question is as old as hip hop itself, right? Most hip hop artists will tell you that the violence they rap about is simply a reflection of the violence in our communities. Most critics will say that hip hop is not a reflection of the violence in our communities, but is a primary cause. The truth, I believe, is somewhere in the middle. First, we must admit that violence in our communities is a...

Nearly 2 years ago my team at the Grassroots Law Project took on the case of Marvin Guy - who was wrongly arrested for shooting and killing a police officer over 8 years ago in a horrible no-knock raid. Wanting to see blood, they charged Marvin with murder and have been pursuing the death penalty. And for the past 8+ years, Marvin has been sitting in a local jail cell in rural Texas without ever b...

I need you to understand what's happening right now. It's VERY disturbing. Last year Philadelphia's DA, Larry Krasner, won his reelection bid with a blowout victory of nearly 70% of the vote - making him one of the single most popular elected officials in the city. But conservatives HATE Larry. They always have. He has exonerated so many people and is holding corrupt cops accountable and they can'...