Shaun King’s income tripled despite Black Lives Matter’s revenue dropping.

Shaun King’s Income Triples Despite Decrease in Revenue for Social Justice Group

Activist Shaun King, known for his involvement in the Black Lives Matter movement, received a significant increase in income in 2021 from his social justice advocacy group, Grassroots Law Project. Despite the organization’s revenues plummeting by almost 60%, King’s salary was over $268,000, and his media company, North Star, was paid $60,000 for email lists. This surge in cash comes as the nonprofit group he chairs saw its revenues decrease from over $6.6 million to $2.6 million in 2021, according to tax records and the Washington Free Beacon.

Decline in Financial Support for Social Justice Causes

The decline in Grassroots Law Project’s cash flow is a reflection of how social justice causes have received increasingly less financial support than immediately after the murder of George Floyd in 2020. Corporations and celebrities handed millions of dollars to groups such as the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation. However, between 2021 and 2022, the BLM charity’s revenues tumbled by 88% as the group faces legal and ethical scrutiny over alleged financial mismanagement, tax filings show.

Grassroots Law Project alleges that “white supremacy, bigotry, greed, and corruption are at the center of police violence and mass incarceration.” The organization helped ensure former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was convicted for murdering Floyd in May 2020.

Controversy Surrounding Shaun King

King has come under fire in recent years in connection to financial matters, including accusations from Samaria Rice, the mother of a 12-year-old black boy named Tamir Rice, who was shot and killed in 2014 by a Cleveland police officer. In 2021, Samaria Rice accused King of profiting off her son’s death. An activist named Keisha N. Blain, who worked with King prior, has labeled him “a liar & a fraud,” while another activist named DeRay McKesson has alleged that King is “running a long con” through his groups. However, King has denied these allegations.

Revelations concerning the project’s 2021 revenue come after King was outed last year for paying over $40,000 for a designer guard dog to stave off “white supremacists” with funds from his political action committee. Later, King threatened to dox and inflict “pain” on a pair of New York Post journalists for reporting on him.

Grassroots Law Project did not return a request for comment.