An Evening with Civil Rights Activist Shaun King
King, a native of Versailles, Kentucky, has become a nationally recognized leader in civil rights advocacy especially with his use of social media in recent years. After graduating from Morehouse College, King taught high school civics before going on to become a motivational speaker for Atlanta's juvenile justice system. King founded the Courageous Church in Atlanta in 2008 and used social media as a means to gain new members earning him the nickname "Facebook Pastor."
King has strong ties to UK and spent a lot of his childhood visiting campus and participating in activities.
“I used to come up and visit the MLK Cultural Center, but I would visit every event they held — from poetry readings to workshops and more. It was like a little oasis in the middle of all of the pain,” King said.
A Black Lives Matter activist, King has made numerous efforts in support of the national movement. He has written many articles on the topic of police brutality towards African Americans as well as hosted fundraisers to benefit the family of Tamir Rice.
“Seeing people come together, online and off, was a beautiful thing. To this day people question what we accomplished, but they fail to understand the emotional healing that simply coming together ushered in when we told this country and this world that we would not be silent about being done wrong,” King said.
The upcoming Soup and Substance event was an idea of MLK Center programming intern, Savon Gray.
“The idea of 'The Art of Storytelling' came from thinking about how much news and information we are given each day through television, newspapers, social media, etc.; yet how can we be sure that what these forms of media tell us is true? That question led to the creation of this event,” Gray said.
Gray submitted this idea as a part of his application to get hired at the MLK Center and he is seeing his hard work come together. He hopes that students learn from this event the importance of critically analyzing and thinking about the information that is spread daily by the media before accepting it as fact.
“Shaun King is important to me for many reasons. During my freshman year Mike Brown was killed in Ferguson which lead to protests and events all over the country, and Shaun King was who I got most of the information from. He has deep interest in what he writes and is working on issues that other people involved in media often ignore. Shaun King is a great example of the journalist that I would like to one day become,” Gray said.
Rockia Harris, director of SAB Engaging Issues, is also thrilled to help bring such a noted Kentuckian to campus. "This was my first #TrendingTopics event and I'm super excited, especially to be able to bring Shaun King to campus," Harris said. "It's always good when a Kentucky resident is out in the world making a difference. It hits home!"
Although some may view him as an activist, King has a very simple outlook on life.
“First and foremost, I see myself every single day as a father of five young children. I fight, I write, I stand, I struggle — all of them and the future that I want them to have in this country. When I wake up in the morning, I don't see an activist or even a journalist in the mirror — I see a father and a husband. Everything I do comes from that perspective."
The MLK Center's mission is to advance the university's strategic goal of achieving a more diverse and inclusive campus environment; to support increased retention of undergraduate students who are generally underrepresented in the student body; and: to enhance student achievement by helping students to have a more engaged, productive and fulfilling undergraduate experience. To these ends, the center's goals are to foster intercultural competence, promote respect and passion for the pursuit of quality education, and to help prepare students for productive and responsible engagement in a global society. For more information on the MLK Center, visit them online at www.uky.edu/MLKC, follow them on Twitter at http://twitter.com/uk_mlkcenter, or like them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/UKMLKC.
SAB brings more than 60 entertaining, educational and enriching programs that are reflective of contemporary issues and trends to the University of Kentucky annually. These programs are designed to enhance the college experience for students, faculty, staff and the greater Lexington community. Connect with SAB at www.uksab.org, follow them on Twitter at http://twitter.com/UKSAB, or like them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/UKSAB.
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MEDIA CONTACT: Blair Hoover, 859-257-6398, blair.hoover@uky.edu; Rebecca Stratton, rebecca.stratton@uky.edu, 859-323-2395