Trayvon Martin's Family To Speak; Celebs Support Martin Via Twitter; Trayvon Martin's Family At Town Hall; Slain Teen's Family Wants Answers
COSTELLO: The killing of Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Florida has been making news and provoking reaction across the country. That's an understatement, on the internet, in the street, in churches. Union Baptist in Trenton, New Jersey declared yesterday hoodie Sunday. The church members and the pastor wore headed sweatshirts to morning services. The pastor said we're all going to look suspicious like Trayvon Martin. Phoenix, Arizona was one of several cities with a march and a rally demanding justice for the teenager. Demonstrators also held a hoodie march and later bowed their heads in prayer. And celebrities are chiming in on the internet. Music mogul Diddy posted this picture on Twitter of himself wearing a hoodie and holding Martin's picture. And actress Mea Pharaoh posted a picture of her 20-year-old son and wrote, it is not safe for a black male walking the streets of America. We worry. No question the Trayvon Martin case has hit a nerve from coast to coast and on social media. But members of Trayvon Martin's family want more. They want answers and an arrest. They're expected at a town hall today at Eatonville, Florida, that's near Sanford. That's set to begin in less than two hours. Our CNN contributor Roland Martin will be the moderator. He joins us now live. What should we expect to come out of this meeting?</s>ROLAND MARTIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, first of all, you're going to have Trayvon Martin's family. You have the attorneys there also. You have the president of the Florida NAACP, a state rep from here and the head of the Paul Pierce Bar Association, a local bar association. So obviously talking about the case, but also what's the next steps. You know, one of the things that I've often said is, will this be a moment or will it lead to a movement? And so many people do not want this to simply end with Trayvon Martin. They want this to expand into a serious social justice movement trying to bring in all of these young voices. Because we remember, after Gina Sticks, a lot of people talked about what it could it lead to. Lots of assumptions and then for the most part, it dissipated. And so a number of folks across the country don't want this to happen, and Carol, I talked to individuals, lawyers all across the country, National Bar Association, NAACP, defense and legal education fund, many people. That's what they want to happen, for this to be a much more massive movement across America.</s>COSTELLO: And I would assume they want it to be a peaceful movement.</s>MARTIN: Well, of course. I mean, first of all, nobody wants it to be a violent movement. Obviously, many people are talking about invoking Dr. King in nonviolence. But when you talk about the anger and the frustration, I have to remind folks what did Dr. King write in -- letters from Birmingham jail. His book was called "Why We Can't Wait." So you're hearing lots of people talk about that. Saying what must be done not just in terms of confronting stand your ground laws, but also dealing with these types of cases, how do you combat them in state houses across the country. What happens with Congress and so just like what happened in Matio, the civil rights movement was born out of Matio's death in 1955. You saw the Montgomery bus boycott in 1956, and so folks want to use that exact same pattern to have the kind of social justice change that this country desperately needs.</s>COSTELLO: Well, I ask that because of this new wrinkle in this matter. The new Black Panthers, this group that the Southern Poverty Law Center calls a hate group has a bounty on Zimmerman. You see the wanted poster they put out, wanted dead or alive. We're going to play a bit of what one of the members had to say, and then I'll get your thoughts on the other side.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: By next week, we're looking forward to getting $1 million for the capture of George Zimmerman. We're going to force our government to do their job properly, and if they don't, we will.</s>COSTELLO: So did you have a chance to ask them -- Trayvon Martin's parents about the new Black Panthers and what they want to do?</s>MARTIN: Well, first of all, I think we overestimate the influence of one group compared to other folks. I have talked to Attorney Ben Krump, what he has said at the Trayvon Martin family has made it perfectly clear, if they want George Zimmerman to be arrested according to the law. Not by any individual, not by any group through the legal means and so you will have a grand jury and panel on April 10th. They want to see an indictment come out of that and him arrested that particular way. I also talked to Hasheen, I have interviewed those guys over the course of the last 20 years, and so what they say is that African- Americans are tired of seeing things happen and they fall by the wayside. They also have been involved in other cases across the country where they say things then fall apart when people want them out of the way, then the family is calling them afterwards. They did not get the permission of the family in this case. And they said they don't have to. I expect people to say, look, if you're going to step out there and support someone, at least be in accordance with the family, in accordance with attorneys, because they have a legal strategy involved. And so, again, different people can do whatever they want to do. And so the family has made it clear, though, they want George Zimmerman taken care of by the law and by law enforcement officials, and not by any group, not by any individual.</s>COSTELLO: Roland Martin, thanks for clearing that up for us. We appreciate that. We want to take a closer look now at that group, the new Black Panthers. They claim to have thousands of members, but they offer no exact numbers. They're a black separatist group that believes African-Americans should have their own nation. Groups like the Southern Poverty Law Center believe the new Panthers are a hate group, calling them, quote, "racist and anti- Semitic." The original Black Panthers who are active in the '60s and '70s reject them and their ideas. Obamacare isn't a dirty word anymore. Just ask the Obama campaign. They're using the phrase in fund raising efforts, but what happens if obamacare dies in the Supreme Court? Our "Political Buzz" just ahead. And the NCAA tournament started with 68 teams. Now it's down to the final four. Kentucky, Louisville, Kansas and Ohio State are still dancing. A look at some bracket-busting, next.