Some of the most destructive forms of racism - like being denied a home loan or being passed on for a job where you are the most qualified candidate - are hard to measure in real time.
— Shaun King
The harsh fact of the matter is that this nation has not remotely come to grips with how many of its laws are rooted in slavery and bigoted oppression. After the Civil War, the United States never said, 'Let's examine every law and policy and system and structure we have to evaluate whether or not they were created as a tools of oppression.'
It's hard to understand a moment in history when you are in it.
The justice systems in San Diego, Alameda, and Sacramento counties are horrible.
Before I ever endorse a candidate, I meet them, interview them, interview their colleagues and evaluate their competitors, study their positions and ideas, look at their campaign... then make a decision.
Few cities have more skilled, experienced organizers and activists and grassroots organizations than St. Louis and Philadelphia.
My work has never been about me, and I've never made a big deal about my race. I've actually tried hard to avoid ever making a big deal out of it and have, instead, simply tried to do good work that matters.
There are many great outlets that we love and respect, but 'The North Star' really is going to be a hard news outlet with reporters and journalists, White House correspondents. I think we'll be hard news with some cultural commentary.
There is kind of this spirit in journalism to tell both sides of the story and to just let the listeners choose what they want to choose, and I understand that, and there's a place for it, but on some issues, we really do need to take a stand.
I have been told for most of my life that the white man on my birth certificate is not my biological father and that my actual biological father is a light-skinned black man.
I fight against racism and bigotry because I care about the people who are experiencing it.
I was raised by a great single mother. I grew up in rural Kentucky, and she's just a really compassionate woman.
We are living in tumultuous times, and our focus should be fighting against the oppression and injustices that are against us - not battling those who are on the same side of seeking justice and peace.
When I write a story, I try to write them from the perspective of victims. I try to write them from the perspective of families who've been done wrong, who have lost their loved ones or people who have experienced injustice.
I tend to write two stories every day, five days a week. It's a real grind. But it also allows me to really try to have my finger on the pulse of injustice in America.
People I love and trust advise me to just drop off the face of the Earth for an extended period of time, and maybe that will calm or cool things down. But my work is very public work.
Adults who loved and knew me, on many occasions sat me down and told me that I was black. As you could imagine, this had a profound impact on me and soon became my truth. Every friend I had was black; my girlfriends were black. I was seen as black, treated as black, and endured constant overt racism as a young black teenager.
Racism itself is difficult to measure. We can measure hate crimes - which are absolutely an indicator. We can measure reports of discrimination. We can measure the number of times hateful words are being used across the Internet. Those things all help us measure racism, but it can sometimes be nebulous.
Of course Trump thinks he is above the law. For his entire life, he has been able to say and do whatever he felt like saying or doing - not just without consequence, but he has been able to say or do whatever he felt like saying or doing - and rise up all the way to the position of President of the United States.
It takes guts in this country to refuse to be a Democrat or a Republican.
Conservatives will fight hard to preserve the institutions of mass incarceration and police brutality. Because they don't see themselves as victims of these things, but as benefactors, they will fight hard to preserve the status quo against a reform candidate.
Injustice has exhausted people but also pushed them to organize and fight back in very sophisticated ways.
Electing radical reformers as district attorneys is huge. It's essential.
By the time I reached middle school, I fully identified myself not even as biracial but just as black.
I used to think this notion of preaching to the choir was a problem, and we kind of use it in a bit of a pejorative sense... but I've actually grown to adopt that perspective that the choir needs good preaching - they need good information. They need good tools and insight.
I'm yelling in my mind as I write a tweet.
While I am furious about injustice, I do what I do, fighting against it, out of a place of love.
Young people, throughout history, have always been the lifeblood of every movement for civil and human rights.
I've always loved technology - not gadgets so much... but I've enjoyed using technology to connect people to people and connect people to opportunities to do good.
It doesn't matter if I've been wronged - I still have a responsibility to use my influence in a way that never causes harm.
For about a year, I worked for 'Daily Kos.' They were great. I mean, they allowed me to write whatever I was thinking about and feeling. 'The New York Daily News' saw it. They were making some pretty big changes. They hired a new editor in chief. I was his first hire.
I see my role as sort of an informed outsider.
I would never crawl into a secret space to avoid the frustrating things.
We loathe mass incarceration. We loathe police brutality. But most of us have absolutely no idea how to address the critical flaws in our justice system.
I know what it's like to be threatened. I know what it's like to be humiliated and targeted.
I reject this idea that who Bernie Sanders was in the 1960s is irrelevant. Who you are and what you do, what you fought for, and who and what you fought against, is always relevant.
Boston's justice system is in serious need of reform. Many of its policies and practices are antiquated, expensive, and don't really even make Boston safer.
When you are a coordinated partner, you are, in effect, on the campaign staff. You can talk to the whole staff and have virtually no limits on what you can discuss and strategize around. When you are an independent friend of the campaign, you are not allowed to strategize with the campaign on their political decisions.
I was never a white guy pretending to be black. Not once, ever, did it occur to me that I was being phony or fraudulent or fake. Quite the opposite - I always believed I was living the truest form of my self.
For my entire life, I have held the cards of my complicated family history very close to my chest.
I think what irritates both conservatives and liberals alike is when news outlets pretend that they don't have an agenda but then clearly do, be it in the editorial decisions they make and the guests they have and the material that they cover.
When you're trying to bust through the noise on social media, you do have to be overt and loud.
When people meet me or hear me in person, they quickly learn that I am much more than a tweet and a profile picture.
I've made tons of mistakes over the past years, but if there's anything I've done well, if I see an opportunity, or if I see God moving or going in a direction or opening a door for me, I try to take it; I try not to hesitate.
I'm most comfortable at the intersection of technology and helping people; that's really what gets me going and gets me excited and what I get most passionate about.
I think, when people think of NFL athletes, they forget that they are citizens of this country, that they are bothered by the problems that we all face.
I've always been a writer and have always loved writing.
A tweet is fast. But everything about policy change is very slow. And a lot of us are impatient.
Never have I once identified myself as white.
