The Breakdown with Shaun King

Nearly 2 months ago, a long range Israeli sniper shot and killed beloved journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, an American citizen. Nearly a dozen different newspapers and media companies conducted exhaustive investigations and all came to the exact same conclusion - she was shot and killed in cold blood by the Israeli military. The United States, though, has chosen to ignore all of the facts from those investigations, including forensic evidence, videos, audio clips, interviews, and so much more, and instead issued a statement saying that they don't quite know who did it, and that if it was Israel, it was an accident. It's utterly shameful. The US Government has chosen to protect and defend another country over one of its own citizens.

Mass shootings, gun violence, and police violence are so prevalent in this country, EVERY SINGLE DAY OF THE WEEK, that if I had to name just one thing to describe the actual reality of this place, it would be "violence." And yesterday, which was the 4th of July, was as quintessentially violent as any other day, with a mass shooting literally interrupting a parade outside of Chicago and other events all over the country. While this country has BEEN exhausting for Black folk, more and more I see that a larger percentage of the nation is just thoroughly exhausted by the stress of this place. And what compounds it all, is America's complete unwillingness to actually address its most difficult and dangerous problems.

What police did to this young brother, firing 90 shots at him, riddling his body with bullets from head to toe, is something almost exclusively reserved for young Black men. Because what I know is that white mass murderers aren't treated like this. Period. And Jayland had never been in trouble a day in his life.

After 67 years, an unexecuted arrest warrant for the woman that helped get Emmett Till lynched has been found. And I have SO many questions. This much I am clear on. Arrest this woman, RIGHT NOW.

I've heard hundreds of horrible stories in the 20+ years I've been fighting against mass incarceration, but this story, which of course comes from Florida, might be the single most outrageous and dubious scheme I've ever heard to keep Black men behind bars. At worst it was entrapment. At best it's evil white supremacy at work. Listen to today's FULL EPISODE only on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or at TheNorthStar.com

We knew 2 months ago that it was all but a sure thing that Roe v Wade would be overturned and that millions of women would lose their civil and human rights as a result. Joe Biden and The White House had MONTHS to prepare for this moment. Months. And instead they've offered a few badly delivered words and a bunch of fundraising emails in response to it all. Guess what conservatives did? They passed robust laws months ago, state by state, that would be immediately triggered if Roe was overturned. THEY were prepared to meet this moment. And even though Democrats have real options on what they can do, and what they should fight for, they've taken virtually none of them. It's time that we begin thinking of new people to lead the party - from the top down.

On today's episode of The Breakdown I will not only confront the ugly and racist myths and stereotypes about Black fathers in America, I will tell you how we can support Black fathers on the journey to recovering from losing their children to police violence in America. Thank God many groups are already supporting the mothers. They need it. But along the way, the fathers have been forgotten and they need our help. We are working directly with the families of Mike Brown and Oscar Grant to support a retreat for these great men, but we need YOU to chip in today to help cover the costs. Please click the link in my bio on IG and click on the picture of the fundraiser to support them now. 100% of the proceeds go straight to the retreat. As you may know, we are going through some cool changes and testing out some new options for the future of The Breakdown podcast and we need all of our listeners to PLEASE complete this quick survey. The link will be in my bio on Instagram until Sunday night or you can go directly to: https://forms.gle/SeABuvGARcx9oSbP6And yes, if you already completed the earlier survey, we still need you to complete this one. THANK YOU!!!

As you may know, we are going through some cool changes and testing out some new options for the future of The Breakdown podcast and we need all of our listeners to PLEASE complete this quick survey. The link will be in my bio on Instagram until Sunday night or you can go directly to: https://forms.gle/SeABuvGARcx9oSbP6And yes, if you already completed the earlier survey, we still need you to complete this one. THANK YOU!!! Shaun & Crew

This makes my blood boil. Even though millions of dollars was given to GoFundMe to support the families of victims in Buffalo, an organization thousands of miles away, that has nothing to do with Buffalo, is lording over the money and is saying it might be as late as December before anyone gets it. This organization should never be allowed to do this again. Had we all known better in the moment, we would've stopped them then and there. Moving forward, we MUST make sure that families have direct control of the money being raised for them.

We're at the point now where mainstream moderate Democrats like Congressman James Clyburn are calling out Merrick Garland. Garland MAJORS in failing to meet the moment - with the attack on the Capitol, with confronting white supremacy, and with confronting police violence. He never should've been the nominee, but the best we can hope for is that he will step down soon and pass the work on to someone with more drive and determination to take care of essential issues. FYI: Today is the next to last day this podcast will be on Instagram - we're moving everything back to Apple and Spotify and hope you will be joining us there.

Yesterday was both bitter and sweet. Men and women that are deeply dedicated to justice and equality won elections all over the country in super important races. And then voters also recalled our friend Chesa Boudin as DA of San Francisco. Let's unpack and explain it.

All across the country today we have primaries - including in California. But the one thing I am following the most today is Prop H in San Francisco, where billionaires, conservatives, and corrupt tech leaders have banded together, and donated millions of dollars, to stop San Francisco DA Chesa Boudin. It's a waste and an abomination that it has even gotten this far. Not only is Chesa a brilliant DA, he's a good, ethical, moral human being. Conservative Californian's continue to abuse the recall system when they can't win in the general elections. It's a waste of time and money. If you are in San Francisco, or know somebody who is, PLEASE encourage them to vote NO on Prop H to stop the recall of Chesa Boudin.

Gun violence is its own American pandemic. It's a public health AND a public safety crisis. It's now the leading cause of death for young people. And while we press politicians for meaningful reform, we must accept the burden and responsibility of fighting for our own safety and security. Today I will begin this discussion that I hope we can continue and make real in the days and weeks ahead.

If you are listening to this podcast right now, there is a 75% chance you are on Instagram! For the past 2 years, against the advice of every podcast expert I know, we have uploaded EVERY single full length episode of The Breakdown directly on Instagram for the world to hear and share. And I've loved it. We've made an ENORMOUS impact on the news and on so many civil and human rights causes, but we HAVE to go back to our roots on Apple Podcasts and Spotify if we want this podcast to be able to exist for years to come! Let me unpack and explain why.

Regular school shootings are an exclusively American problem. Mass shootings that happen daily are as well. In fact, the United States has more gun violence than almost any nation in the world.Today I want to give you my most honest answer on what I think the United States will do about it.

On today's episode of The Breakdown, I want to share a simple, but profound lesson my wife taught me several months ago. I haven't been able to shake it and it guides a lot of what I am thinking today about how I should use my life and how I hope you will use yours

New details are emerging that make it clear that the white supremacist terrorist in Buffalo who shot and killed 10 African Americans had a small support group that included a retired federal agent from Texas. Here's what I know - the ONLY reason that man, and the others, aren't in some underground prison being tortured right now is because they are white men and because the victims were Black. It is abundantly clear that all over this country white supremacists are FLOURISHING with little to no monitoring or interrupting from city, state, and federal governments.

The more we learn, the uglier it gets. Let me unpack and explain it.

Last night over 3,000 of you attended our town hall on what it means to confront white supremacy in 2022. Now, we're moving on to our first 6 action steps. You can also see them now @ TheGreatestThreat.com

We're going to be talking about 2 main ideas: What we can do for OURSELVES to protect our communities and businesses. And... What we can fight for on the policy level, in your city, in your county, in your state, and on the federal level - to better protect our communities. It's not going to be like a townhall you've ever been a part of before. The link is IN MY BIO to register now.

Politicians love Black votes but don't really love Black people. Because here's the thing... I've been in a devoted relationship with one woman for 25+ years and let me tell you what I've learned.LOVE IS A VERB. Love requires corresponding actions to match it.And what I am seeing right now is that politicians keep telling Black people that they care, and that they see and feel our pain, but don't do anything about the actual material conditions causing that pain. It's not enough to console our communities after ANOTHER white supremacist attack without actually doing ANYTHING to stop the next one. And we're at the point as a people and as a nation where we have to move from rhetoric to substance.

Yesterday Shaun traveled to Buffalo to meet with families and leaders after the horrible terrorist attack in Buffalo. Last night Shaun was asked to speak at their vigil. Here is Shaun's entire speech, uninterrupted, on what must happen next.

I have something very, very painful to say. As it stands right now, NOTHING is going to change about white supremacy in America. Zero. Zilch. NOTHING. The bigotry, racism, and attacks are going to continue because the security apparatus of this nation does not actually take the threats seriously - with staffing and budgets and effective intervention plans. Today I am going to begin to discuss what we can do differently, OK? I am thinking out loud so please forgive me if anything I say offends you.

Today, in the funeral procession of assassinated Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, the police of Apartheid Israel literally attacked the men carrying her casket, beating them with sticks, causing them to momentarily drop the casket. In all of my years as a historian and as an activist and as a journalist, I've never seen this before. It truly was an abomination that really goes beyond words. However... My only hope, is that like when the world saw the photographs and videos of white supremacist police in the Jim Crow South turning their fire hoses on Black boys and girls, and unleashing dogs on them, that it so exposed their ugly bigotry, that it was seen as a turning point in the Civil Rights Movement that led to the Voting Rights Act and the Civil Rights Act. Because here's the thing, if you are low enough to beat men carrying a casket during a funeral procession, there is nothing you won't do. Israel can no longer pretend before the world that it has some moral high ground. That facade has crumbled. We must all stand up and speak out against the Apartheid state of Israel and their unending human rights abuses.

This morning the Apartheid Government of Israel targeted and assassinated revered Palestinian American Journalist Shireen Abu Akleh. This is a war crime. Let me unpack and explain what we know so far.

Yesterday the US Senate UNANIMOUSLY passed a bill to have the government provide security for the families of the Supreme Court.  And now they are about to pass a bill for $38 BILLION in aid for Ukraine. Biden only asked for $33 billion. So, they don't mind working together. They just don't like working together for ANY serious priorities for African Americans. And what burns me up, is in 2022, we still have victims of the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921 out here fighting for justice. We still have the living relatives of Emmett Till, who was murdered in 1955, out here fighting for justice. That's 101 years and 67 years respectively that they have been fighting - and they can't find justice anywhere!!

Last week, in one of the biggest leaks in American history, we learned that the Supreme Court is VERY close to overturning Roe v Wade. And even though Democrats control the House, Senate, and Presidency, I just don't believe the party will do what needs to be done to protect a woman's right to choose. Why? Because it would require 4 things that Democrats actually need right now. A plan. A strategy to make that plan happen. Unity. And will. In fact, I am not sure the party has any of those 4 things - and they need all 4. Let me unpack and explain it.

It's Mother's Day weekend. And today I wanted to unpack and explain 4 things that this country could and should do if it actually loved mothers. Cards and flowers are great. A good meal is great. But let's talk about all of the policies of this nation that make life so damn hard for mothers.

32 years. When Thomas James was wrongly arrested, charged, and convicted for a crime he had NOTHING TO DO WITH he was just 23 years old. 32 hard years later, Miami prosecutors admit that he was actually innocent and that they stole the best years of his life. Let me unpack and explain this story, then let's chip in together and provide this man with the support he needs right now, ok? Click the link in my bio on Instagram now to help.

If you don't learn from political defeats, you'll be doomed to repeat them over and over again. Today I want to unpack and explain one masterful thing that we should ALL learn from Republicans. It's what has them on the verge of overturning Roe v. Wade. And this one thing that Republicans REALLY get right, I just don't see from Democrats.

Last night, a Supreme Court opinion was leaked to Politico in which Roe v Wade was overturned by the conservative majority. The thing is, the opinion, while it appears to be authentic, is not yet official or binding, because it was not supposed to be public for at least a month or two. Today I'll try to unpack and explain what it means and what it doesn't mean. And I'll try my best to explain how we got to this moment.

While Shaun is recovering from his surgery, we want to use this time to replay one of his most important episodes. It's a simple fact that is the foundation for the majority of the work he does. The United States is the single most incarcerated nation in the entire history of the world.  The size and scope of the problem needs to be understood by all!

No, I didn't quit Twitter. I'm there. And here. To stay. And as I've done my entire life, I'm going to continue to speak truth to power and call out racists and bigots and oppressive people and corporations whoever and wherever they are. Including Elon Musk.

A lot of people are incorrectly framing Elon Musk purchasing Twitter as being left versus right. I strongly disagree. This is about the richest man in the world, who was born into Apartheid and raised by a white nationalist, wanting to be sure that powerful white men can say whatever they want - about whoever they want - without consequence.

Hey everybody. I am taking the next week off of work and social media to be with my wife and kids. It's RARE that all 7 of us get to be together like this, so I just want to unplug and be physically AND emotionally present for everybody. See you in a week. Love and appreciate each of you.

You can't make this up. The NYPD failed in its most basic duties on every level of this mass shooting, but somehow found a way to act like they solved it. They damn sure didn't. Let me unpack and explain how it all went down. In fact, victims might be suing the NYPD for their gross incompetence

As I recorded this podcast, 24 hours after the mass shooting in New York, the perpetrator is still on the loose a dozen people are still in the hospital, and the city is dealing with the real trauma of it all. And what has become clear is that it was a catastrophic security failure for the NYPD - not one of budgetary needs, but of extreme incompetence. They have a budget of nearly $11 BILLION per year - the most in the world, but nothing they did worked yesterday - and the man appears to have caused this carnage and simply walked right off of the train.

I planned on talking about something totally different today, but while I was prepping for the podcast, a mass shooting happened on the subway train in Brooklyn. I'll unpack and explain what we know so far and put it into context with what it means to live in one of the most violent countries in the world.

Last week police in Grand Rapids, Michigan shot and killed a young Black man named Patrick Lyoya - a Congolese immigrant and father of 2 young girls. Both the family and a local county commissioner who saw the body camera footage have said that police put a gun to the back of Patrick's head and shot and killed him execution style. I believe them. Of course, police and prosecutors are stalling by refusing to release the footage, refusing to name the officer, and giving that officer and others time to scrub their social media history, and get their lies together. It's despicable. I think this is going to be a case that is going to shake the nation.

I am nothing but elated over the confirmation of the brilliant Ketanji Brown Jackson onto the United States Supreme Court. It's a huge, historic deal. And we should celebrate. Period. We also need to understand that she is about to walk into perhaps the most conservative Supreme Courts in the entire history of this country.

On April 4th, we ran a classic episode from our friends Allan Boomer and Tiffany Hawkins of The Momentum Advisors titled "Is Your Money Racists?" I need a couple more days to recover from my recent neck surgery so the team at The North Star is going to run a great action oriented follow-up to that Episode. We hope you enjoy! The terms "ESG", "socially responsible" and "impact investing" are ongoing buzzwords in the financial services industry. But what does it all actually mean? Regardless of the confusing industry jargon, the essence of it all is aligning your portfolio with your values—without sacrificing returns. More than that, it presents greater opportunity for you to see stronger returns. On this episode, we teach you how to do it whether you're dealing with a financial advisor, HR department or you self-manage your investments.

Yesterday, I not only announced my next book, a memoir called Lemons and Stones, I also announced that we are launching our own fully independent Black owned publishing company, The North Star Publishing. Today I want to unpack and explain why we're going this route and what it means for us. It won't be easy, but nothing worth doing ever is. Let's GO!

When you contribute to your retirement savings do you know what your investments are contributing to? Are your investment dollars circulating wealth into the communities that matter to you the most? Unfortunately, the answer is probably: NO. And the worse news is that your retirement and investment dollars are likely supporting companies and institutions that would rather support immigration, prison complexes, racism and excess gun usage before supporting people that look like you. In this takeover episode we ask you the question ‘Is Your Money Racist?' and then provide you with the tools on what you can do about it once and for all.

Yesterday we shared our first 5 ways to defund the police and make America safer at the same time. Today, we conclude with the final 5 ideas. 

For today and tomorrow's episode, we revisit episodes 287 and 288. In them, Shaun breaks down a list by Alex Vitale on 10 ways we can safely defund the police.  Alex Vitale is one of Shaun's favorite scholars in the country on how and why we must defund the police. Of the 10 ways Alex suggested that we defund the police, Today Shaun breaks down the first five. 

For today's episode, we revisit our 33rd episode. In it, Shaun King breaks down Joe Biden's comments from 2019 defending his 1994 Crime Bill. To understand what the implications are of defending this bill, Shaun needs us to understand that mass incarceration in America was designed and planned to criminalize Blackness.

Yesterday Joe Biden announced that he's asking Congress for $32 BILLION more for American police in the name of fighting crime, but here's the thing, they don't need even $1 more. They are swimming in money from coast to coast. The NYPD alone has an annual budget over $10 billion - which is more than most countries spend on their entire military. And here's the thing - America's safest neighborhoods and safest cities are NOT safe because they are swarming with police. They are safe because they have  great jobs, great wealth, great homes, great schools, great health, and treatment for drugs and mental illness. So PLEASE stop calling this man your uncle. While he REFUSES to prosecute serious cases of police violence, he's about to pour more money into oppression than any president in the history of this nation.

Description: Yeah, that happened. It was real. And today I want to ask some hard questions and share some concerns I have. People have breaking points and you don't know when they are going to reach theirs, but when they do, it might be ugly. I am deeply afraid that everyday people are going to try what Will tried, but find out that they will actually go to jail for it and that people will normally punch or shoot back. Some people are saying this is what it looks like to "protect Black women" and others are saying this is not at all what that looks like. I'll unpack that. When white people do something crazy, stars or otherwise, white people rarely absorb it as being something that represents the whole race of white people. I don't know what it's going to take for Black folks to get to that point, but it needs to happen.

Today I'm going to be a bit nerdy/wonky and talk about metrics, by asking the question of "How do we measure success for Black America?" What are the outcomes and numbers we should be able to agree really show whether or not we're moving in the right direction as a people? Is it home ownership? Is it college education? Is it the number of people killed by police or incarcerated? Is it wealth? I can think about 100 things I wish we were routinely measuring and fighting for. But what if we all just agreed on 5-10. What would they be?

Today is a super short episode of The Breakdown. WAY too many of us are saying Kamala wrong (I'll pronounce that for you today as well), but let's take 10 seconds to learn how to say and spell the name of the new nominee to the Supreme Court - Ketanji Brown Jackson.

Yes, it's exciting that a Black woman could be on the Supreme Court, but for many of us in the justice community, NOTHING is more exciting to us than the fact that she is a former public defender. I'm all for ethnic and gender diversity, but America's courts also need an essential type of legal diversity that is woefully missing. The overwhelming majority of judges in America are former prosecutors and see the whole system of justice from the lens of mass incarceration. That's why our organization, Grassroots Law, has fought hard for the past 18 months for Joe Biden to appoint as many former public defenders to judgeships as possible. Having that experience completely changes the way a person sees the criminal and legal system. While I have 101 strong critiques of Joe Biden, one victory that I feel very good about is that he is appointing, for the first time in American history really, a plethora of former public defenders to essential positions. It's a big deal.