Oprah Scholarship Recipient and Black Lives Matter Activist Accused of Pretending to Be Black

Prominent Black Lives Matter activist Shaun King‘s race is being called into question, after his birth certificate reportedly revealed that both of his parents — not just his mother — are white.

For the entirety of his career, King has claimed he is biracial and even accepted an Oprah scholarship to Morehouse College, a historically black school. Conservative websites Breitbart, TheBlaze and The Daily Caller are now questioning not only King’s race, but the allegations he was beaten by racially motivated mob in 1995. Breitbart published what it claims to be King’s birth certificate, which, according to a Breitbart source, names a white man as his father.

King has always maintained that his mother is white, but has said in the past that his father is black.

King has since taken to Twitter to address allegations he is lying about his race, posting more than 40 tweets on his account and saying that the accusations are part of a “white supremacist conspiracy.” He said that the conservative publications are not telling the truth and that he has never lied about his race.

This controversy comes in the wake of Rachel Dolezal, a white woman who purportedly pretended to be black for years.

Photo Credit: Associated Press

“Out of LOVE for my family, I’ve never gone public with my racial story because it’s hurtful, scandalous, and it’s MY STORY,” he wrote on Twitter. He added that no two siblings in his family come from the same set of parents, so that cannot be used as a basis for determining his race.

Here is a selection of King’s tweets.

It’s going to me a second, but let me show you, on my terms, in my way, that what is happening today is a white supremacist conspiracy.

— Shaun King (@ShaunKing) August 19, 2015

3. In March of 1995, I was brutally assaulted by a racist mob of rednecks at my school. Guess what, they denied it.

— Shaun King (@ShaunKing) August 19, 2015

10. But, having no journalistic standards at all, Breitbart decided to use a known white supremacist as their main source of info on ME.

— Shaun King (@ShaunKing) August 19, 2015

11. You need to know this name. VICKI PATE You won’t find her on Twitter. PERMANENTLY BANNED for racist harassment pic.twitter.com/h7K3yLz5Wj

— Shaun King (@ShaunKing) August 19, 2015

16. Breitbart claims I was never in a car accident. That’s me. That’s the car. The story: http://t.co/iwTPbUKPHH pic.twitter.com/Bj3SBDLWYf

— Shaun King (@ShaunKing) August 19, 2015

23. In essence, what is happening to me now, is like conservatives demanding Obama’s long form birth certificate. It’s all BULLSHIT.

— Shaun King (@ShaunKing) August 19, 2015

25. First off, the key facts about my biological relatives are all wrong. They tried, but my family, like many of yours, is one big mess.

— Shaun King (@ShaunKing) August 19, 2015

27. No 2 siblings in my family have the same set of parents. We’re all over the place. Some of us are not even blood relatives.

— Shaun King (@ShaunKing) August 19, 2015

29. If you have known me from when I was in elementary school at Huntertown Elementary until now, you’ve known me as black or bi-racial.

— Shaun King (@ShaunKing) August 19, 2015

30. I did not concoct a lie about my race to get into @Morehouse. I did not concoct a lie about my race to get an @Oprah scholarship.

— Shaun King (@ShaunKing) August 19, 2015

31. Every single person who knows me BEYOND Twitter, beyond trending topics and HIT PIECES, knows I have never lied about my race.

— Shaun King (@ShaunKing) August 19, 2015

32. Out of LOVE for my family, I’ve never gone public with my racial story because it’s hurtful, scandalous, and it’s MY STORY.

— Shaun King (@ShaunKing) August 19, 2015

Trying hard not to slip into a deep funk over all of this garbage, but my life, my past, my pain, my family, ARE VERY REAL TO ME.

— Shaun King (@ShaunKing) August 19, 2015

I receive death threats daily. DISTANT members of my family are being harassed 24/7. This has taken something out of me, but I’m ok.

— Shaun King (@ShaunKing) August 19, 2015

Moving forward, I’m gonna work, stronger, harder, bolder than ever My life may be your trending topic but I live this Done addressing it.

— Shaun King (@ShaunKing) August 19, 2015

Not everyone was satisfied with Shaun King’s response, some Twitter users, including Montel Williams, claim he dodged the question of whether his father was black. 

So #BlackTwitter any of y’all see the irony in Shaun King wondering if I’m black enough? https://t.co/gnoJwZRyja

— Montel Williams (@Montel_Williams) August 19, 2015

Shaun King cut out the damn drama and answer the damn question – good lord you are a drama queen. It’s yes or no! https://t.co/YiO9tGwicV

— Montel Williams (@Montel_Williams) August 19, 2015

@ShaunKing are you white or not? Talking like the damn Riddler

— . (@lksuperiorkicks) August 19, 2015

Shaun King pic.twitter.com/Hy1DTJnDbe

— Cameron Gray (@Cameron_Gray) August 19, 2015

Hillary, asked if she wiped her server, gives long non-answer. Shaun King, asked about his race, gives long non-answer. Coincidence?

— Derek Hunter (@derekahunter) August 19, 2015

Shaun King should be a politician. He went 35 tweets without answering the main question.

— Ace (@AgentAce_) August 19, 2015

King shared his childhood best friend’s Facebook post defending King, saying his accusers are liars.