Shaun King is a success story, of sorts. The #BlackLivesMatter activist moved on to lead Justice Together, an anti-police brutality group that claimed to have “chapters in all 50 states and on over 300 college campuses” and included on its board luminaries such as Attorney Benjamin Crump, who represented the families of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown and Tamir Rice, and actress Gabrielle Union.
King was also picked up as a writer for the Daily Kos website, and then was hired by the New York Daily News to fill its newly created senior justice writer position — not a bad gig at all.
Tonight, though, Shaun King is a trending topic in the United States and has inspired the #ShaunKingLetMeDown hashtag.
Chandra Paz got the ball rolling this morning by tweeting that she still has love for Shaun King for shedding light on the dark corners on American society. However …
So why the hashtag? I feel compelled to speak. Hundreds of people were invited by SK to join @JusticeTogether #ShaunKingLetMeDown
— Chicangona (@NietaDelMar) November 7, 2015
I experienced: A great idea. A charismatic leader. A goal I'm passionate about. But to me, there were always red flags #ShaunKingLetMeDown
— Chicangona (@NietaDelMar) November 7, 2015
Lots of self-promotion. Intimidation of dissenting views. Excuses for non-action, no real answers… #ShaunKingLetMeDown
— Chicangona (@NietaDelMar) November 7, 2015
…More self-promotion, pointing fingers at his haters, hiding behind a wall of silence, repeat. #ShaunKingLetMeDown
— Chicangona (@NietaDelMar) November 7, 2015
I excused his behavior until I couldnt. SK talks a good game, but he's all about the promotional spin. #ShaunKingLetMeDown
— Chicangona (@NietaDelMar) November 7, 2015
Paz noted that she began to see a pattern in King’s behavior, a pattern that had not gone unnoticed by others who wondered what happened to the money donated to King’s previous nonprofits, “A Home in Haiti” and “Hope Mob.”
Pattern: use followers to garner support for a good idea. Start an org. Be absent. Blame your outside circumstances #ShaunKingLetMeDown
— Chicangona (@NietaDelMar) November 7, 2015
…Promise action to come. Allude to action behind the scenes. Be all but absent for months #ShaunKingLetMeDown
— Chicangona (@NietaDelMar) November 7, 2015
Where's the follow through? The accountability? The support for the people who so badly wanted to believe in you? #ShaunKingLetMeDown
— Chicangona (@NietaDelMar) November 7, 2015
In summation: I wish @ShaunKing had stepped up. Instead, he points fingers at his growing group of dissidents. #ShaunKingLetMeDown
— Chicangona (@NietaDelMar) November 7, 2015
Via Facebook, King explained that his nationwide organization with 300 college chapters would actually launch in one state, Georgia, as a pilot project.
https://twitter.com/ShaunKing/status/663142200491048960
King posted an explanation of sorts on Facebook today, blaming a controversy over his race (he claims to be mixed-race, which he eventually attributed to his mother’s extramarital affair with a light-skinned black man) for throwing his life into disarray.
… just days before we were scheduled to launch [Justice Together], as I am sure every single one of you know, my entire life was turned upside down. My name and my life story were literally the top news story in the country for over 48 hours, horrendous lies were told about me, my history, and my family, and the newfound notoriety only increased the death threats that we received.
Literally the top news story in the country for over 48 hours?
After that initial batch of Twitter posts, King’s story did become big news on Twitter as the damn broke and other shared their feelings.
#ShaunKingLetMeDown
Was shutting down #JusticeTogether always the plan? Your directors were better than you treated them Shaun— Beth (@MrsStinkFingers) November 7, 2015
We don't know what's coming next for JT, if anything. We don't know what happened to the donations. #ShaunKingLetMeDown
— Rebecca Abara (@BeccaGotThis) November 7, 2015
Then he shows up, sends out a pithy email, and completely dismantles the one joint JT channel of communication. #ShaunKingLetMeDown
— Rebecca Abara (@BeccaGotThis) November 7, 2015
Long history of crowdfunding 'projects' that he then can't seem to be able to follow through on. #ShaunKingLetMeDown
— Elle Kamihira (@ellekamihira) November 7, 2015
https://twitter.com/AspieTruther/status/663103476264796160
Any man who would accuse his own mother of being sexually promiscuous to hide his lies will easily steal your donations #ShaunKingLetMeDown
— Alexiis Starr (@AlexiisStarr) November 7, 2015
https://twitter.com/Yung_Twigger/status/663160613695315968
https://twitter.com/Nero/status/663170608012881920
.@ShaunKing has the same excuses as every other fraudster. It's everyone else's fault, he's always the victim. #ShaunKingLetMeDown
— John Cardillo (@johncardillo) November 8, 2015
https://twitter.com/Coondawg68/status/663171875862765568
https://twitter.com/jenilynn1001/status/663177158144081921
Aaaaand Shaun King is now trending nationally! Lol! https://t.co/xYNmwk0eXA #ShaunKingLetMeDown
— ¡El Sooopèrr! ن c137 (@SooperMexican) November 8, 2015
At least one person has managed to talk to King. Fellow Justice Together board member DeRay McKesson says it’s been a learning experience.
Last Monday, I had a good conversation w/ @ShaunKing as I stepped down from the board of Justice Together, to focus my energy & time.
— deray (@deray) November 8, 2015
.@ShaunKing's reporting has been powerful since Aug. 2014. & I'm hopeful that we can all learn & grow from the recent events re: JT.
— deray (@deray) November 8, 2015
@deray @MsPackyetti @ShaunKing A tremendously educational project. Maybe Harvard Business School will do a case study on it.
— Biji Berxwedana SDF (@boerneaj) November 8, 2015
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