Shaun King, one of the more prominent leaders of the #Blacklivesmatter movement, has come under fire in the media with reports that he is lying about his racial lineage, but his wife claims that "he's no Rachel Dolezal," according to the NY Daily News.
Dolezal is a former leader for a chapter of the NAACP. She resigned after the media became aware that both of her parents were white, despite her claims of being bi-racial.
Rai King, King's wife, went to Facebook to address the controversy with a lengthy and passionate post, saying "There's no spray tan, no fake black hairstyles, no attempt to make himself appear any more ethnic than he already does."
King has always claimed that his mother was white and his father was black.
However, a member of King's family other than his wife has said that he is white, according to Mediaite.
CNN host Don Lemon reported in a "CNN Tonight" segment that he talked to a family member of King's who confirmed that both of his parents were white.
Lemon went on to say that he had a conversation with King about his racial identity. King was willing to confirm that he was bi-racial but did not respond to questions about what it shows on his birth certificate.
Much of the dispute comes from blogger Vicki Pate, who has posted accounts of King's background and family tree on her blog. Her findings were then reported by Breitbart and cited by the Daily Beast.
Breitbart also showed what appears to be a police incident report with King listed as white.
King has refuted the claims on his Twitter, posting that Breitbart decided to use a "known white supremacist" and that Pate was permanently banned from Twitter for "racist harassment."
