There are growing accusations that a Black Lives Matter movement leader is a male version of Rachel Dolezal.
Shaun King, a leading voice in the Black Lives Matter movement, has been accused of misrepresenting his race and passing for black when he’s actually white. He is currently defending claims that he is in fact white after public records reportedly revealed that his parents both were.
The 35-year-old has been an outspoken voice against police brutality. He has told people that he is the son of a Caucasian mother and an African-American father. He has talked about a childhood where he was “terrorized” by racial tensions.
Conservative-leaning websites have come up with evidence that King’s father is white. One of the allegations made against King is that he misrepresented himself to get a scholarship, financed by media mogul Oprah Winfrey, to get him into Morehouse College, the historically black college in Atlanta. King flatly denied these claims.
“I did not concoct a lie about my race to get into @Morehouse,” King tweeted. “I did not concoct a lie about my race to get an @Oprah scholarship.”
Morehouse said Wednesday it had “no comment” on the allegations against King, but added the college doesn’t grant admissions or scholarships based on race.
In a series of posts on his social media accounts, racial justice activist and Morehouse College graduate Shaun King says he has never lied about his race or a brutal attack he suffered 20 years ago.
CNN’s Don Lemon told viewers that he had spoken to a family member who told him King is caucasian.
UPDATE: King posted an impassioned defense on the liberal blog site DailyKos.