The Black Student Association invited King to speak in honor of Black History Month. King spoke on the civil rights issues of today, discussed the presidential election and fielded questions from the audience.
Ashanti Wallace
Viewpoints Editor
Black Lives Matter activist Shaun King delivered a speech entitled “Civil Rights Today, The New Civil Rights Movement” in McGaw Chapel at The College of Wooster on Monday evening.
King, who is also a senior justice writer at The New York Daily News, was brought in by the College’s Black Student Association as part of a month-long series of events in celebration of Black History Month.
King prefaced his lecture by addressing a concept developed by historian Leopold von Ranke. This concept refers to how humans typically think they are better than past generations, an issue that, King argued, continues to manifest itself in 2016.
It is this mentality that King believes to be the main reason behind why racism and injustice toward African-Americans are continuously perpetuated in America.
Topics discussed included the record number of African Americans killed by police officers in 2015 and the overall direction in which this country is headed in relation to civil rights.
In speaking on the U.S.’s alleged progress, King said, “More unarmed African-Americans were killed last year than any year since 1922. In essence, all I’m saying is that more unarmed African Americans were killed by police last year than in any year of lynching for almost 100 years.”
King also chimed in on the current election and discussed his views on Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
He spoke on Trump’s statement to deny entry of all Muslims into the United States and explained his views on how Trump has consistently dehumanized Mexican immigrants.
King said, “[Trump] is not popular in spite of his bigotry, but rather he is popular because of it.”
Emerald Rutledge ’17 kicked off questions from the audience