The Breakdown with Shaun King

Latest Episodes:

Ep. 567 - The Brutal Police Execution of Amir Locke Feb 04, 2022

Show notes

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 did not break the law. But police did not give Amir enough time for him to even process a coherent thought before they murdered him - still wrapped in blankets and sheets.
Already, police have attempted to blame the fact that Amir had a gun, but Amir was a licensed, trained gun owner. What we know is that gun ownership, and all of the laws protecting gun owners, are very much about protecting WHITE gun owners.
Let me unpack and explain what we know so far.

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Ep. 566 - The price my family has paid for the lies of Deray McKesson Feb 03, 2022

Show notes

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 has failed to account for an astounding $40 million he raised in the names of families that he hasn't even supported. Now it all makes sense to me. He has laser-focused misinformation campaigns on me to get the attention off of himself.
You don't have to believe in Karma for it to be real. The principle of "you reap what you sow" is thousands of years old. And I don't delight in the Karma Deray is now receiving - that's not my way - but I will say it's overdue.
Sadly, after years of people lying and saying I was the one misspending funds - in spite of me releasing hundreds of pages of reports and accounting showing nothing of the sort, we now see that it is actually a real problem with Deray and many others in this movement. All I can do is continue to let my work and my impact speak for itself.

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Ep. 565: All of us need to stand with Coach Brian Flores Feb 02, 2022

Show notes

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 the NFL previously, it cost him his entire career.

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Ep. 564 - Happy Birthday to Lee Merritt! + An update on what happened in court yesterday Feb 01, 2022

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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 make a birthday donation to his campaign to be the next Attorney General of Texas. Let's GO!

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Ep. 563 - How the DOJ is bungling one of the most important moments in modern American history. Jan 31, 2022

Show notes

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 are only now admitting to it because it will allow them to serve their time in a federal prison instead of a hot, overcrowded, badly managed Georgia prison like everybody else who murders someone there. They also wanted to avoid the deep public stain of a trial in which the whole world would learn just how racist these white men were. It's a mess.
Today I want to unpack and explain how this happened, tell you who is responsible, and give context for why so many of us are so incredibly frustrated with the DOJ right now.

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Ep. 562 - This American city drastically increased their police budgets and murders still DOUBLED. Jan 24, 2022

Show notes

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, mental health issues, homelessness, and struggling schools - all which are root causes of crime, the city poured more and more of its limited money into policing. And NOTHING got better.
If we are going to be serious about public safety, pouring all of our money into policing, which already takes $789 million PER DAY in America, simply won't work.
Listen, if you love this podcast, we need your support. Go now to TheNorthStar.com to become a paid member or click the link in my bio on Instagram. We are 8,900 members away from our goal for 2022!

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Ep. 561 - Why this Florida law making it illegal to make white people uncomfortable should concern all of us Jan 21, 2022

Show notes

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 alone is a problem. But today on The Breakdown, I want to unpack and explain why this law actually sets a VERY dangerous precedent.
In fact, it was because white people made their comfort into law that the got their own water fountains, their own restrooms, their own entrances, their own sections and seats. Listen - this new Florida law is opening Pandora's Box.

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Ep. 560 - Why Joe Biden is to blame for yesterday's voting rights failure Jan 20, 2022

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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, who is the head of the Democratic Party, half-assed this entire push for all of 2021 - not even stating clearly if he supported changing the filibuster rules to pass voting rights legislation until it was far too late. By the time Biden was finally ready to move on this, he gave Sinema and Manchin room to dig their heels in. Everything about how this went down was a rushed unprofessional, unprepared mess. Period. And all of that starts and ends with Biden.

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Ep. 559 - One key way we CANNOT respond to racism & bigotry Jan 19, 2022

Show notes

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 nigger there. It was ugly. But in response to it, I see something that I often see in response to hate. And I want to talk about it.It's one key way we CANNOT respond to hate. Let me unpack and explain it.

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Ep. 558 - America is addicted to policing to solve EVERY problem Jan 18, 2022

Show notes

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 it from solving so many challenges

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