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Shaun King and 'The North Star'

What’s 'The Breakdown' got to do with it?

By Josh K.Published 5 years ago 3 min read
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Does everyone know what The North Star is? It was a newspaper founded by freedman Frederick Douglas. It was an abolitionist newspaper started in Rochester, New York in 1847. Writer, Shaun King, has revived The North Star. Shaun King cites current news outlets that don’t fight against social injustice and the problems economic and social inequality create for people of color as one reason he writes at The North Star.

With his podcast, The Breakdown, he exchanges his views, in 20 minute increments, on historical and contemporary occurrences that impact marginalized communities. Over eerie and hauntingly symphonic sounds and gritty beats, Sean pays tribute to some of hip hops greatest artist. He pledges to talk about good news once a week and congratulates Beyoncé on her new homecoming projects, which he calls an ode to historically black universities. His attempt at providing good news is an epic failure, but the podcast is bright with undeniable perspicacity and valuable information citizens can use to make informed choices around political representatives and ballot propositions. The podcast is a convenience for busy people who want to know what’s happening.

In editorial commentary on a tribute to the life and death of Nipsey Hussle, he says, “We need to find better ways of addressing the violence in our communities”. Nearly 90 percent of the people murdered are murdered by people of their own race, this he calls intra racial killing.

Episodes twelve through fourteen are a three part exploration of ways to make police brutality illegal. King calls police brutality a crisis in America. It is permissible by law for a police officer to shoot and murder a man. Shaun recommends legal reform and law change to change brutality. Excessive mass incarceration stems from outdated laws requiring review. Is advocacy the key to changing outdated unlawful laws? The North Star is still an advocacy publication and was created to abolish slavery and the inhumane treatment of black Americans.

In episode fourteen, "How to Make Police Brutality Illegal" the podcaster, addresses how to challenge current legal and political notions around conduct citing Tennessee verses Garner and Graham verses Connor. These two pivotal cases, he says, provide the legal framework and justification for police violence. In 1974 a young Eric Garner was shot in the head after attempted burglary. His father challenged the state of Tennessee after his son was killed while fleeing the police purportedly unarmed. Prior to this case a police officer could use any means to seize a suspect if he or she resisted arrest. Following the landmark case the Tennessee statue was deemed unconstitutional. The suspect would have to be a threat to himself or someone else’s in order for an officer to use deadly force to apprehend a criminal.

President Trump's immigration policies and the mistreatment of migrants at the American border are an example of Shaun King's ability to shed light on the hidden and unseen corners of unconsciousness in the psyche of the men and women at the border patrol. Sean goes on record about some of the heinous and separatist horrors occurring with families at the border. He's talking about parents being separated from their children. Some of the confluence of laws muddled in bureaucracy and misinformation make up the justification of faulty immigration programs. People are calling for an overhaul of our immigration policies and say the immigration crises is intersectional and affects human rights across the spectrum. Shaun implies the creation of The North Star is an impetus to bring freedom and justice for those enslaved by laws prohibiting the deconstruction of systemic oppression.

The podcast could be about educating and informing Americans about advocacy and abolitionism as ways to systematically dismantle practices and institutions that threaten innocent lives. Sean exacerbates the cruelty and vicious outcomes of a negligent and stupid administration, and the stupidity of American voters.

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