Civil rights activist and journalist Shaun King will be speaking at CWU on Feb. 25, with tickets available to students now.

King is best known for his advocacy within the Black Lives Matter Movement and for spreading messages of social equality. He has worked as a pastor, and established a church in Atlanta called Courageous Church in 2008. He is a columnist for the Intercept, writer-in-residence for Harvard Law School’s Fair Punishment Project and a former senior justice writer for the New York Daily News. King also contributes to the Tom Joyner Morning Show and The Appeal podcast.

King has also recently revived The North Star, originally an antislavery newspaper founded by Frederick Douglass. King plans to bring the newspaper into the modern age by discussing current civil rights issues. The newspaper will be published online.

King has raised over $20 million for grassroots causes and has organized people for justice reform across the country. King is a co-founder of the Real Justice PAC, a political action committee devoted to justice reform through the election of “reform-minded prosecutors at the county and municipal level who are committed to using the powers of their office to fight structural racism and defend our communities from abuse by state power,” according to their website.

King has launched numerous internet campaigns, including aHomeinHaiti.org which raised $1.5 million to send tents to Haiti following the earthquake in 2010. He also displayed activism against police brutality, and denounced discrimination against people of color.

King is also known for his contributions in identifying and arresting white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia, after they had attacked multiple people of color. According to King’s website, his efforts “single-handedly led to more arrests of Neo-Nazis there than that of the FBI or State Police.”

King speaks at universities, prisons and civic groups around the country to promote social justice. He is recognized for his use of social media to advocate for social change and to further the Black Lives Matter Movement. King received the Humanitarian Hero honor at the 2018 BET awards for exhibiting bravery and strength through his advocacy throughout the year.

King will speak on Feb. 25 at 6:30 p.m. in the SURC Ballroom. He will be sharing how people can generate change by using their voice on social media platforms. Free tickets are currently available to CWU students online or at the Wildcat Shop, while the general public may purchase tickets starting Jan. 25. General admission tickets will be $10 with a non-perishable food donation, which will be accepted at the door before the event and will be donated to the P.U.S.H. Food Bank. Tickets will be $15 with no donation.