‘I Don’t Understand How You Sleep at Night’: Shaun King’s Attempt to Reveal Conversation He Had with Tamir Rice’s Mom Quickly Backfires When Samaria Questions His Motive
Samaria Rice, mother of slain teen Tamir Rice, slammed Shaun King via Instagram and accused him of profiting off of her son’s death.
Rice wrote this week, “along with the united states, you robbed me for the death of my son.” Rice’s 12-year-old son was killed by a Cleveland police officer in 2014 while playing with a toy gun.
The mother’s comments came after King spoke about a conversation he’d recently had with her during episode 469 of The North Star podcast “The Breakdown with Shaun King.”
The episode was called “I spoke to Samaria Rice this past week” and included an episode description that said, “It was a much-needed conversation. I learned a lot. Listened a lot. Shared my heart. And pledged we would continue to fight to get justice and accountability for Tamir.”
The episode seems to have been removed from the website.
On Instagram, Rice questioned King’s motives about why he shared details about their conversation. “Why do you think its so important to tell folks we had a conversation?” she asked.
Rice has criticized King in the past. “I ain’t never talked to Shaun King a day in my life,” she told The Cut earlier this year. “Shaun King raised all that money [for Tamir] and sent me a $60,000 check.” She also accused King of using Tamir’s name without her consent. “I ain’t know Shaun King from a hole in the wall.”
Rice said on Instagram that the conversation she had with King was “toxic” and made her uncomfortable. She said she didn’t understand why King raised more money for the family, then said he didn’t want to bother her.
“Personally I don’t understand how you sleep at night. I never gave you permission to raise nothing.”
Rice started the Tamir Rice Foundation in 2017 and she and King had a falling-out over the fundraising efforts.
On June 22, King wrote in The North Star about his fundraising efforts in connection with Rice, saying he’d raised about $125,000 but had never taken a penny for the money for himself.
King said he left Rice alone but shouldn’t have assumed everyone around her was doing right by her, and suggested she may have been misled about his involvement in the fundraising.
“Everything else – every harsh word said about me, every lie spread by people about my work for Samaria, I just have to let go of,” King said. “For her. And for Tamir.”
Rice said King’s words are “All lies,” adding, “please stop thinking we on the same page.”
She added, “as a white man acting black you are an imposter that can not be trusted….you are a self-centered selfish person and God will deal with you White man.”
Controversy surrounding King’s race has swirled for years. King, who has a white mother, has previously stated that she told him “the white man on my birth certificate is not my biological father and that my actual biological father is a light-skinned Black man.” He also said on Instagram that his alleged father is mixed and “could’ve passed for white.”
Rice has previously criticized Black Lives Matter groups and characterized some activists as “ambulance chasers” who profit from the deaths of Black people. She is seeking to have the Department of Justice reopen its investigation into her son’s case.