Samaria Rice, the mother of Tamir Rice, said this week that she never gave Shaun King “permission to raise nothing” and criticized the Real Justice PAC co-founder for having “robbed me for the death of my son.”
via: New York Post
Samaria Rice was apparently set off by King publishing details of a conversation they had, after she previously blasted King and others, accusing them of benefitting from the death of her 12-year-old son, who was shot by Cleveland police while playing with a toy gun.
“Why do you think its so important to tell folks we had a conversation,” Rice wrote in an Instagram post addressed to King.
“Well we talked and everything that was said was very toxic and uncomfortable for me to hear that you raised additional money and then say you did not want to bother me. Personally I don’t understand how you sleep at night,” she wrote.
“I never gave you permission to raise nothing,” Rice went on. “Along with the united states, you robbed me for the death of my son.”
“It was a much-needed conversation,” he wrote on the page for the episode. “I learned a lot. Listened a lot. Shared my heart. And pledged we would continue to fight to get justice and accountability for Tamir.”
Samaria Rice started the Tamir Rice Foundation in 2017, three years after the death of her son. Rice and King apparently fell out over King’s fundraising efforts in the name of Tamir.
In a post on his website Tuesday, King outlined how he had raised a total of about $125,000 through several fundraisers and didn’t receive a penny for his efforts. He also had nothing to do with disbursement of the money, he stated.
He added that Rice may have been misled about his efforts. King outlined how he and Rice had met early last week after one of the staffers on his team at the Grassroots Law Project worked alongside the Tamir Rice Foundation.
“My first question for the organizer on our team was whether or not Tamir’s mother, Samaria, was aware I was that I lead the Grassroots Law Project (GLP),” King said. “She was. I was surprised because for the past few months Samaria had included my name in a list of activists and organizers and attorneys that she was frustrated with.”
He said at the meeting he apologized to Rice for “not actually being in her face in 2014 and 2015 and wrongly assuming that the people around her were doing right by her.”
“In an attempt to stay out of her hair, and give her space, I left her more alone than I understood,” King said. “I regret that tremendously and moving forward I will make sure it never happens that way again.”
“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. For her. And for Tamir.”
But Rice in her Instagram post said King gave her “a cop and donut conversation.”
“All lies Shaun, please stop thinking we on the same page,” she said. “As a white man acting black you are a imposter that can not to be trusted.”
She went on to say her son’s human rights were violated and renewed her call for a new federal investigation into Tamir’s death.
“You are a self centered person and God will deal with you White man,” she wrote.
An email from The Post to a representative of King wasn’t immediately returned on Wednesday.
At the time of this writing, episode 469 of Shaun’s podcast appeared to have been swapped out for a new episode focused on elections in New York. We got questions Shaun.
