# Is Shaun King (Daily Kos writer & Black Lives Matter activist) really white? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [August 19, 2015, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shaun-king-daily-kos-writer-black-lives-matter-activist-really-white/728271 "2015-08-19T16:39:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 23
**Author:** ![Omega\_Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7c8e57/32.png) [@Omega\_Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Glory)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2015, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shaun-king-daily-kos-writer-black-lives-matter-activist-really-white/728271/441 "2015-08-22T19:09:05Z")
> [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > It should be noted if most of the African-American posters on this site showed their pictures as newborns many of the white people would assume the person in the picture was “white” because the melanin doesn’t set in for a few days. > > Also as you note light-skinned blacks as children probably do look “white”. > > I’d be beyond shocked if Thurgood Marshall at five or six didn’t look much the same. In addition to this, it takes some time for African Americans’ hair to reach its final texture. Babies are born with straight, wavy, or loose curls that curls/kinks tighter as they age. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2015, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shaun-king-daily-kos-writer-black-lives-matter-activist-really-white/728271/442 "2015-08-22T19:13:27Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I think someone already noted this earlier, but generally if a woman is married when she gives birth, her husband is presumed to be the father unless there is a specific effort made by the parents to name someone else as the biological father. That was me. I don’t know for sure if it’s universal throughout the US or Kentucky(Bricker might know), but yes, if a married woman has a baby, the husband is presumed to be the father. Here’s an article partially dealing with that. [http://www.lawny.org/index.php/advocate-page-attorney-resources-119/38-public-advocate-information/171-paternity-for-advocates](http://www.lawny.org/index.php/advocate-page-attorney-resources-119/38-public-advocate-information/171-paternity-for-advocates) People will notice that the article mentions that in New York, the status of the husband being the father is so strong that married women in New York can’t have another man listed because the legal paternity of someone other than the husband would have to be established in court. Obviously, this might be different in Kentucky. ---
**Author:** ![camille](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/22d042/32.png) [@camille](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/camille)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2015, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shaun-king-daily-kos-writer-black-lives-matter-activist-really-white/728271/443 "2015-08-22T19:17:26Z")
> [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > That was me. I don’t know for sure if it’s universal throughout the US or Kentucky(Bricker might know), but yes, if a married woman has a baby, the husband is presumed to be the father. > > Here’s an article partially dealing with that. [http://www.lawny.org/index.php/advocate-page-attorney-resources-119/38-public-advocate-information/171-paternity-for-advocates](http://www.lawny.org/index.php/advocate-page-attorney-resources-119/38-public-advocate-information/171-paternity-for-advocates) > > People will notice that the article mentions that in New York, the status of the husband being the father is so strong that married women in New York can’t have another man listed because the legal paternity of someone other than the husband would have to be established in court. > > Obviously, this might be different in Kentucky. I just posted about it - 2 posts up. Here is [Kentucky](http://family.findlaw.com/paternity/legal-definition-of-father-by-state.html): A “parent” is a biological or adoptive mother, a father of a child born in wedlock, or a father of a child born out of wedlock if paternity has been established in a judicial proceeding or in any manner consistent with the laws of this or any other State. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2015, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shaun-king-daily-kos-writer-black-lives-matter-activist-really-white/728271/444 "2015-08-22T19:31:46Z")
[Kentucky statute 406](http://www.lrc.ky.gov/statutes/statute.aspx?id=17610) > [@](#): > > ## 406.011 Obligations of father > > ## Presumption of paternity. The father of a child which is or may be born out of wedlock is liable to the same extent as the father of a child born in wedlock, whether or not the child is born alive, for the reasonable expense of the mother’s pregnancy and confinement and for the education, necessary support and funeral expenses of the child.\*\* A child born during lawful wedlock, or within ten (10) months thereafter, is presumed to be the child of the husband and wife. \*\* However, a child born out of wedlock includes a child born to a married woman by a man other than her husband where evidence shows that the marital relationship between the husband and wife ceased ten (10) months prior to the birth of the child. History: Amended 1972 Ky. Acts ch. 159, sec. 1. > > **Created 1964 Ky. Acts ch. 3 > 7, sec. 1** ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2015, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shaun-king-daily-kos-writer-black-lives-matter-activist-really-white/728271/445 "2015-08-22T19:32:26Z")
> [@camille](#): > > I just posted about it - 2 posts up. > > Here is [Kentucky](http://family.findlaw.com/paternity/legal-definition-of-father-by-state.html): > > A “parent” is a biological or adoptive mother, a father of a child born in wedlock, or a father of a child born out of wedlock if paternity has been established in a judicial proceeding or in any manner consistent with the laws of this or any other State. Thanks, it sounds like in Kentucky also has similarly strong presumptions that the husband is father when a married woman gives birth. In short, if Jeffrey King and Shaun King’s mother were married at the time of his birth, unless judicial proceedings were undertaken, he was the legal father though not necessarily biological father. Edit: And Running Coach just confirmed. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2015, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shaun-king-daily-kos-writer-black-lives-matter-activist-really-white/728271/446 "2015-08-22T19:57:52Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > It IS implicit that they mean the baby’s biological father. Cite? ---
**Author:** ![Gent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gent)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2015, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shaun-king-daily-kos-writer-black-lives-matter-activist-really-white/728271/447 "2015-08-22T19:58:34Z")
Now that Mr. King has been caught lying, I wonder how long it takes that silly organization to force him to resign. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2015, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shaun-king-daily-kos-writer-black-lives-matter-activist-really-white/728271/448 "2015-08-22T20:08:13Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > No, Shaun identified his mother as white. Photographic evidence identifies the father listed on the birth certificate as white. The birth certificate was linked in the very first post. It doesnt list race does it now? And, you have never heard of a paternity suit where the childs father on the Birth cert isnt the biological child? \*\*Again, what is your definition of “Black”? \*\* Until you can come up with a definition of “black”, how can you say Shaun isn’t black? ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2015, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shaun-king-daily-kos-writer-black-lives-matter-activist-really-white/728271/449 "2015-08-22T21:31:35Z")
> [@Gent](#): > > Now that Mr. King has been caught lying, I wonder how long it takes that silly organization to force him to resign. Where has he been caught lying. Beyond that I have asked you three times to back up your claims that the kids who attacked King were actually black and you have so far failed to produce any cites. Are you going to or should we assume you made a claim you can’t back up? Thanks in advance for what I’m sure will be a well thought out, well-written post. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2015, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shaun-king-daily-kos-writer-black-lives-matter-activist-really-white/728271/450 "2015-08-22T21:45:40Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > …\*\*Again, what is your definition of “Black”? \*\* Samuel L. Jackson. That motherfucker is _black._ ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2015, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shaun-king-daily-kos-writer-black-lives-matter-activist-really-white/728271/451 "2015-08-22T21:47:17Z")
> [@Gent](#): > > Now that Mr. King has been caught lying, I wonder how long it takes that silly organization to force him to resign. He hasn’t “been caught lying”, so he won’t be resigning. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2015, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shaun-king-daily-kos-writer-black-lives-matter-activist-really-white/728271/452 "2015-08-22T21:56:52Z")
> [@Omega\_Glory](#): > > You asked if anyone in the thread said you couldn’t look white, but have close black relatives, in other words, be biracial. Shaun King claims to be biracial. **Omar Little** doesn’t believe him, because he looked white as a child. **Omar Little** never said he didn’t believe him. All he said was he looked white. Early in the thread, which is where all his posts are, it was not at all well established that SK had any close relatives who were black. Most of the evidence presented at that stage pointed to him being white-- another Rachel Dolezal. ---
**Author:** ![Gent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gent)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2015, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shaun-king-daily-kos-writer-black-lives-matter-activist-really-white/728271/453 "2015-08-22T22:31:30Z")
> [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > Where has he been caught lying. > > Beyond that I have asked you three times to back up your claims that the kids who attacked King were actually black and you have so far failed to produce any cites. > > Are you going to or should we assume you made a claim you can’t back up? > > Thanks in advance for what I’m sure will be a well thought out, well-written post. The problem is you’re not interested in an adult back-and-forth. Your objective is to deny, deny, deny. I’ve cited multiple sources to these statements. Don’t be lazy. You’re the one in denial. Take the time to look up the sources I’ve provided you. It’s not that hard. Sources: CNN, mediate, Don Lemon, New York Times Lies: 1.) Mr. King just admitted, in his own words, that he doesn’t know who his father is. In previous statements, he very clearly said that he knew who his father was, and that his father was black. 2.) Mr. King’s brother stated that he was white, and that he fabricated a story involving a racially-motivated attack. Instead of white people beating Mr. King up because he was black, black people beat Mr. King up because he was white, dating a black woman. This story was verified by Mr. King’s childhood friends. Mr. King’s refusal to take a DNA test only proves to further his deceitful ways. I do not wish to further this discussion with you. I, in no way, wish to derail this thread into what people like you want it to become, thus taking the spotlight off this issue. Good luck in your research! ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2015, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shaun-king-daily-kos-writer-black-lives-matter-activist-really-white/728271/454 "2015-08-22T22:32:48Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > He hasn’t “been caught lying”, so he won’t be resigning. Especially since not a single item I’ve seen so far actually directly addresses literally the ONLY thing King could be lying about that has even one shred of relevance whatsoever: what his mother told him. ---
**Author:** ![Andiethewestie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ba9def/32.png) [@Andiethewestie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andiethewestie)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2015, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shaun-king-daily-kos-writer-black-lives-matter-activist-really-white/728271/455 "2015-08-22T22:34:13Z")
To be honest when I first saw Shaun’s picture I thought he was a white man with a black family and I thought, of course he’s a defender just like the mayor of New York. I had no qualms about his work, and like DiBlazio is sensitive to issues around the black community. To learn of his story, for me just makes more sense as to why he fights so passionately and his life just gives more cred to the movement. In essence this asinine story of questioning his race has achieved the exact opposite effect of what his detractors worked so diligently to do, that is obtain police reports and birth certificates, and of course even if it was legal to do all this snooping, imagine how creepy this Pate person has to be to go to all that trouble. ---
**Author:** ![Andiethewestie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ba9def/32.png) [@Andiethewestie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andiethewestie)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2015, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shaun-king-daily-kos-writer-black-lives-matter-activist-really-white/728271/456 "2015-08-22T22:46:36Z")
> [@Gent](#): > > The problem is you’re not interested in an adult back-and-forth. Your objective is to deny, deny, deny. > > I’ve cited multiple sources to these statements. Don’t be lazy. You’re the one in denial. Take the time to look up the sources I’ve provided you. It’s not that hard. > > Sources: CNN, mediate, Don Lemon, New York Times > > Lies: > > 1.) Mr. King just admitted, in his own words, that he doesn’t know who his father is. In previous statements, he very clearly said that he knew who his father was, and that his father was black. > > 2.) Mr. King’s brother stated that he was white, and that he fabricated a story involving a racially-motivated attack. Instead of white people beating Mr. King up because he was black, black people beat Mr. King up because he was white, dating a black woman. This story was verified by Mr. King’s childhood friends. > > Mr. King’s refusal to take a DNA test only proves to further his deceitful ways. > > I do not wish to further this discussion with you. I, in no way, wish to derail this thread into what people like you want it to become, thus taking the spotlight off this issue. Good luck in your research! 1. Horse manure. King knows who is legal father is, not his biological one. 2. Again more donkey shit- who is this brother and why haven’t you provided his name? 3. A DNA test for the very people who are punching him in the gut now, just like the racist farm boys in high school? They all can go fuck themselves. ---
**Author:** ![Omega\_Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7c8e57/32.png) [@Omega\_Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Glory)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2015, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shaun-king-daily-kos-writer-black-lives-matter-activist-really-white/728271/457 "2015-08-22T22:59:56Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > **Omar Little** never said he didn’t believe him. All he said was he looked white. Early in the thread, which is where all his posts are, it was not at all well established that SK had any close relatives who were black. Most of the evidence presented at that stage pointed to him being white-- another Rachel Dolezal. I believe \*\* Omar Little\*\* commented on Shaun King’s phenotype for a reason - because he was making an assumption about his genotype. So, I’ll agree to disagree, unless and until the poster comes back and says he was making a different point, or that he didn’t have a point. Before the post in question was written, someone had linked to Shaun King’s response, the detective’s admission that he made an assumption about King’s race when he filled out the police report, and someone had linked to a picture of a pretty clearly biracial looking teenaged King. So, I don’t think we were in Rachel Dolezal territory; all the information that we have now was already out by then. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2015, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shaun-king-daily-kos-writer-black-lives-matter-activist-really-white/728271/458 "2015-08-22T23:00:43Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Maybe. I’m just disputing your hypothesis that the one drop rule is what makes people think you can’t look white but have close relatives who are black. As I said, it’s much more likely to be the opposite. Okay, I’ll agree that it’s not the one-drop rule in particular that might make people think this, but I think these sorts of beliefs are a remnant of white supremacism – that white and black are somehow inherently separate and different, even as people recognize that there are many mixed-race people (while still identifying these people, for the most part, as “black”). I’ll agree it’s somewhat incoherent, inconsistent, and illogical, but then those are key traits of white supremacism. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2015, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shaun-king-daily-kos-writer-black-lives-matter-activist-really-white/728271/459 "2015-08-22T23:05:23Z")
nm ---
**Author:** ![PatriotX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@PatriotX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotX)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2015, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shaun-king-daily-kos-writer-black-lives-matter-activist-really-white/728271/460 "2015-08-22T23:05:46Z")
Did we change out mind and decide that there such a thing as a DNA test for blackness? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shaun-king-daily-kos-writer-black-lives-matter-activist-really-white/728271.md?page=22) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shaun-king-daily-kos-writer-black-lives-matter-activist-really-white/728271.md?page=24)