the reverend al sharpton host of "politics nation" and the head attorney for trayvon martin's family.al, i want to start with something personal that you shared with everyone watching your show tonight and then everyone at the rally. let's listen to that. >> i got the news this morning leaving new york that my mother had passed. one side of me said and the other side my mother raised me to stand up for justice. my mother would have been ashamed of me if i wasn't here tonight. my mother raised me to stand with mothers and daddies like that and in her name i'm going to fight until zimmerman meets justice in the courtroom. >> reverend al, i heard about the passing of your mother this morning and i thought for sure you wouldn't be going to florida and when i heard that you were still going to florida, i was just amazed. speaking of someone who lost their mother recently, i couldn't have done anything on the day that she died and when i heard you explain it tonight on your show and then when i heard you say that at the rally, i completely understood why you were there and i'm so sorry for

al sharpton didn't stir up the nation on that. the national media didn't fall in love with that story why not? the only thing i could think of, bill, is why they made one story into a national story and the other they ignored is because in one case the shooter had light skin and in the other case the shooter had dark skin. >> bill: last week we did a story on the south side of chicago where there were 49 shootings over the saint patrick's day weekend. 49. resulting in 14 or 15 dead. including a 6-year-old girl whose face we did put up on the screen it was black-on-black crime. generated by gang activity the civil rice people will tell you, al sharptons will tell you. i have had them enough times on the factor to know. this minority community, 13% of the population, black community has to be protected. has to be protected from people of different color and, remember zimmerman is 50% hispanic. has to be protected from them. from the majority who may be racially prejudiced against black people because of the black skin. that's why th

al sharpton didn't stir up the nation on that.ional media didn't fall in love with that story why not? the only thing i could think of, bill, is why they made one story into a national story and the other they ignored is because in one case the shooter had light skin and in the other case the shooter had dark skin. >> bill: last week we did a story on the south side of chicago where there were 49 shootings over the saint patrick's day weekend. 49. resulting in 14 or 15 dead. including a 6-year-old girl whose face we did put up on the screen it was black-on-black crime. generated by gang activity the civil rice people will tell you, al sharptons will tell you. i have had them enough times on the factor to know. this minority community, 13% of the population, black community has to be protected. has to be protected from people of different color and, remember zimmerman is 50% hispanic. has to be protected from them. from the majority who may be racially prejudiced against black people because of the black skin. that's why they do it

and he had just been to james brown's funeral with al sharpton. e one who picked sharpton. it started off as a challenge. hey, if this new collection is so good, what can you find out in 48 hourses? and little did we know what was waiting for us. [laughter] so, yeah, i had to just dive in, and i started to put together the pieces. and at one point tony burrows payment involved, a well known -- became involved, a well known genealogist, also happens to have heritage in the same member of the woods. and so he mentioned that this was what he called thurmond territory. and that was sort of interest being but not particularly relevant at the time. but the journalist when i went and shared my initial findings was so intrigued, he said, okay, keep digging. what else are you going to find? so i went and did a little more sleuthing, because i wanted to find the paper trail. i wanted to find the paper trail to prove it. and one of the remarkable things that didn't get out there is, um, al sharpton's great grandfather, coleman sharpton, he was bought and sold

al sharpton to respond. >> good to have you here. george zimmerman's father, robert, has come forward to make a case for his son's defense in the arena of public opinion. part of his strategy is pushing anti-president obama right wing rhetoric. zimmerman has gone so far as to characterize the president of the united states as a hate merchant. >> i never foresaw so much hate coming from the president, congressional black caucus, the naacp, every organization imaginable is trying to get notoriety or profit from this in some way. but there's so much hate? >> any sane person knows it's absolutely outrageous for robert zimmerman to accuse president obama of anything other than compassion. the president's statement about trayvon martin could not have been any more clear. >> i think all of us have to do some soul searching to figure out how does something like this happen. that means we examine the law and context of what happened as well as the specifics of the incident. my main message is to the parents of trayvon martin. if i had a son,

chris matthews, al sharpton, rachel maddow, thanks for staying with us tonight.e'll be right back with a panel in just a moment. also, coming up, nbc's chuck todd will go inside the numbers coming out of alabama and mississippi. later, eugene robinson, karen finney and richard wolffe will be here on what's shaping up to be a great night for rick santorum and not a good night for mitt romney. you're watching live election coverage of "the ed show" on msnbc. stay with us. >>> you're watching special election coverage on msnbc. big night for rick santorum winning both alabama and mississippi. it was an ugly night for newt gingrich and mitt romney. next, i'll ask chris matthews, rachel maddow, and also reverend al sharpton what this means for president obama. stay tuned. you're watching "the ed show" on msnbc. >>> welcome back to special coverage of the mississippi and alabama primaries on "the ed show" on msnbc. rick santorum has won the alabama primary. according to nbc news. and nbc news also called mississippi for the former pennsylvania senator, rick santorum. i

reverend al sharpton of "politics nation" and rachel maddow, host of "the rachel maddow show." rachel, this is the night rick santorum needed a eed and it's e got. this is a northern who lost by 18 points in his last senate race, going down south deep in the heart of dixie and picking up two big wins over a guy who won georgia and south carolina. how big is it? >> that's right. this whole, i think, beseen sort of in the beltway or at first glance is a big defeat of rick santorum over mitt romney. this is a big defeat of newt gingrich by rick santorum. going down south, theying this is your strategy, your justification for staying in the race, you can win in places like this and i can't. look where i beat you, i beat you in the place you're supposed to be strongest. this makes it hard to understand how newt gingrich stays in the race. you saw that with his pitiful stretch in his speech talking about how him and rick stantoru won a big majority and together one two-thirds of the delegates.

chris matthews, al sharpton, rachel maddow.hanks for staying with us. >>> we'll be back with a panel in just a moment. >>> also coming up, nbc's chuck todd will go over the numbers coming out of alabama and mississippi. >>> later, karen finney, eugene robinson and richard wolffe, on what's shaping up to be a great night for rick santorum and not a great night for mitt romney. you're watching live election coverage of "the ed show" on msnbc. >>> you're watching special election coverage on msnbc. big night for rick santorum, winning both alabama and mississippi. it was an ugly night for newt gingrich and mitt romney. next i'll ask chris matthews, rachel maddow, also reverend al sharpton what this means for president obama. stay tuned. you're watching "the ed show" on msnbc. >>> welcome back to special coverage of the mississippi and alabama primaries on "the ed show" on msnbc. rick santorum has won the alabama primary. according to nbc news. and nbc news also called mississippi for the former pennsylvania senator, rick santorum.

. >> let me turn to al sharpton. he's an msnbc host and has been for decade -- and i've covered him for decades, a major african-american activist in this country. in this particular case, we've put together three different clips. this is from thursday, sanford goes down to sanford, rally. he speaks at a rally. then you'll see him doing his show from the same location where he's acting as if not a journalist but certainly a commentary. and then the second tape is in the 7:00 p.m. hour. let's take a look at that. >> we came for permanent justice. arrest zimmerman now! that's what this rally is about. >> nearly a month ago a tragedy took place just beyond the gates behind me. earlier today, trayvon's parents and attorney and amet with the justice department here and we rally for justice for trayvon. trayvon represents a reckless disregard for our lives that we've seen for too long and we've come to tell you tonight, enough is enough. >> lauren ashburn, how on earth can al sharpton go there, continues to be an activist,

as the reverend al sharpton said, it's a movement now. we'll see how it goes. >> tremaine lee and dr. peterson, thank you for being with us tonight on "the ed show." wish we had more time. share your thoughts on twitter on "the ed show." what do you think about 30,000 people showing up there tonight. we want your tweets. >>> up next, do the politicians who passed the stand your ground laws have the guts to repeal them? not only in florida but all over the country. we will talk to a florida legislator who warned killings like trayvon would happen and the syndrome is across the party and we will set them straight. socks he goes through in a week. but it's fine, because i use tide with bleach, which helps keep his socks brilliantly white. bye mom. hold on. [ horn honks ] show 'em what you got!!! mom!! that's my tide. what's yours? multi-policy discount. paperless discount. paid-in-full discount. [yawning] homeowner's discount. safe driver discount. chipmunk family reunion. someone stole the nuts. squirrel jail. justice! countless discounts.

reverend al sharpton will join me. the right wing's radical agenda on women's health care is taking its toll. top official ls at the susan g. komen resign. the woman who predicted this will happen is with me. tivia. tivia. i tried it and my body felt so right, for a change. and then there's you... why should i try it? my system gets out of sorts but that comes with age, right? wouldn't you like to feel great? just because we're in that over 50... what does that mean? are we done? activia helps regulate your digestive system when eaten daily. these could be our best years yet. activia >>> al sharpton joins me with his take on last night's rally in sanford, florida. >>> later, it's in wisconsin, the slimilar law led to the sam tragic ending. >>> rick santorum says there's no difference between obama and mitt romney so republicans might as well reelect the president. rick, come on over to the good side. richard wolf weighs in later in this hour. share your thoughts on twitter using the hashtag ed show. monarch of marketin

that rally being led by reverend al sharpton, calling on sanford police bill lee jr. to step aside. verend al who spoke to trayvon's parents yesterday, who said they will fight for his son. >> trayvon pulled me out of the burning kitchen, went back in the house, retrieved the phone, came back out and called 911. i will not stop fighting for justice for trayvon. he almost gave his life for me, i won't stop until i get justice for him. >> over 1,000 people attended a million hoodie rally in new york city last night in honor of trayvon who was wearing a hoodie on the night that he was shot to death. many are calling for the arrest of george zimmerman who cited a stand your ground defense. arthur, as we talk about the stand your ground law, give all of us some background and we talked specifically about florida. they're now in 22 states in florida. the good intent was to prevent gung gun violence. in cases like this, for things to completely fall through loopholes. >> well, look, i have fought the nra in florida since 1985. we call for an investigation of the nra in florida, not the poli

i don't want him to be another al sharpton or jesse jackson.k he can help us tell with the larger, con ttextual racial issues in america. talk about some of those -- these big, broad issues. the president can talk about the larger issue of racial profiling. he was a law professor. he understands some of these issues. that's where he can help us. not these individual case, but the larger issues that i hope he can lead us on some of the time, not all the time. it's not his full-time job. i want him to help us fix the economy and all these things. but the disparities are too big to ignore. we don't want these issues to keep on happening again. since i've been a child, we hear about these issues of young black men getting shot down. i think it's time to talk about why this is happening. the president kind of alluded to that in his speech and he talked about, we need to do some soul searching. but it's time to move beyond that. and i want him to help us out. and i think he's great working through those issues, demonstrated during his candidacy. >> i

as the reverend al sharpton said, it's a movement now. we'll see how it goes. >> tremaine lee and dr. peterson, thank you for being with us tonight on "the ed show." wish we had more time. share your thoughts on twitter on "the ed show." what do you think about 30,000 people showing up there tonight. we want your tweets. >>> up next, do the politicians who passed the stand your ground laws have the guts to repeal them? not only in florida but all over the country. we will talk to a florida legislator who warned killings like trayvon would happen and the syndrome is across the party and we will set them straight. [ tom ] we invented the turbine business right here in schenectady. without the stuff that we make here, you wouldn't be able to walk in your house and flip on your lights. [ brad ] at ge we build turbines that power the world. they go into power plants which take some form of energy, harness it, and turn it into more efficient electricity. [ ron ] when i was a kid i wanted to work with my hands, that was my thing. i really enjoy

as the reverend al sharpton said, it's a movement now. we'll see how it goes. >> tremaine lee and dr. peterson, thank you for being with us tonight on "the ed show." wish we had more time. share your thoughts on twitter on "the ed show." what do you think about 30,000 people showing up there tonight. we want your tweets. >>> up next, do the politicians who passed the stand your ground laws have the guts to repeal them? not only in florida but all over the country. we will talk to a florida legislator who warned killings like trayvon would happen and the syndrome is across the party and we will set them straight. i. and why you still feel the same. but your erectile dysfunction -- that could be a question of blood flow. cialis for daily use helps you be ready anytime the moment's right. you can be more confident in your ability to be ready. and the same cialis is the only daily ed tablet approved to treat ed and symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently or urgently. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medications, a

al sharpton joins us for the latest news in keeping the vote down this fall. stick around. that's coming up. >>> welcome back to our continuing coverage of a crazy exciting night in politics. alabama and mississippi voting today for the republican primary. the polls were slithering around like snakes in the rain. and in mississippi, nbc called that race, also, for sfwhiert santorum. rick santorum takes the prize in these two neighboring deep south states tonight. o'and perhaps just as importantly, he takes two potential wins away from newt gingrich. mitt romney may be the purported national frontrunner and in political terms mr. santorum is, frankly, making bigger gains against mr. gingrich than he is against mr. romney, mr. santorum is chipping away at the great personal barrier for him that is newt gingrich. these were must did she win states for gingrich even to mr. gingrich is claiming tonight he'll stay in the race despite losing in both places. when we come back, the latest news about the barriers republicans are building for american voters at the ballot box wherever

and back with us, the reverend al sharpton.fessor sunby, i want to go to a line that's in the police chief's report. the so-called frequently asked questions answers. where he says, by florida statute, law enforcement was prohibited from making an arrest based on the facts and circumstances they had at that time. can you deconstruct that for us? >> yes. what i think the chief was trying to say, and perhaps misunderstood in how he said it, is that any arrest, before you can make it, you have to have probable cause that the person committed the crime. and so to say that you can't arrest someone without probable cause is correct. but what his statement suggests is that if a suspect says that they stood their ground and there's any evidence that might corroborate it, that you can't take a look at all the other facts and still find that probable cause exists. if i understand chief lee's interpretation correctly, it would allow anyone who is suspected of a homicide to say, hey, listen, i stood my ground. i thought i was in danger. an

nose was broken and he was knocked to the concrete. >> reporter: today's rally led by reverend al sharpton and reverend jesse jackson. sharpton says if there is no arrest of the admitted shooter, civil disobedience could escalate. >> you act like killing innocent children is not like trouble. you act like we're not going to rise up and stand together. if you shoot us, it its us in harlem. it hits us in chicago. it hits us in l.a. we will stand together. >> reporter: the case now is in the hand of the special prosecutor who has begin no public timetable as to when or if charges will be filed. in sanford, steve harrigan, fox news. >>> out now to the presidential campaign. front runner mitt romney spent some time with representative ryan. ryan is now backing romney after refusing to endorse presidential candidates in the past: >> it is clear to me that this is a man who has the depth of conviction, who is willing, who is able, who has the courage to do what's right for our country and to deliver us the white house, the senate, the house and then the solutions that are needed to save this coun

al sharpton would have been there? >> no, florida but cnn would have been there.ainstre>> we don't know -- >> the pitt police chief has taken a leave of absence. he has not resigned. >> it's a wise move by him. >> why? >> because look, i do agree with bringing it to the justice department. bringing objective people into it from outside. and taking another look at it. bus this was an innocent kid who didn't deserve to die. >> very different power structure today than we did in 1955. >> yes. >> so it was so -- murdered. we have a black family in the -- black attorney general, and -- >> and none of these caricatures and stereotypes persist down there into the roots. so i think this is -- [overlapping speakers] >> is it possible that both of the people charged were acting in their own self-defense by their best light? you understand? >> i think it's possible that this kid had had enough and dershowitz agree -- said i'm going to do battle with this guy. acting in self-defense? is it possible? >> at different stages. but again, zimmerman created this confrontation, and

. >> it is almost reflexive to just protest, rally, have reverend al sharpton come to town. at the end of the day, we need a 21st century solution to the 21st century problems. >> for now, it is mostly about sound and fury. on wednesday, protesters gathered outside of the office that issues gun permits. they wanted mr. zimmerman's office revoked. many think that florida's gun laws are also at fault. the author of a thick book on the subject says they're getting it wrong. >> a lot of people are upset, understandably so, and they have the right to be, but it is not the law that is the problem in this case, it is whether george zimmerman it acted lawfully or unlawfully. >> preparations are underway for the rally that was to be held in a nearby church, but organizers have moved it here because they fear -- they feel there will be a big turnout. al sharpton has a reputation for fiery rhetoric, but this is a place where the emotions are already wall. he may want to tread carefully. >>> there is growing international banker over events in mali? >> that is right, strong internationa

i'm al sharpton, thank you for watching. "hardball" starts now.

. >> bull o'reilly, fox news all going after al sharpton.completely inappropriate for television. >> so reverend al sharpton has been holding rallies for the trayvon martin family. let's watch. >> now the reporting on the case has been hysterical in some precincts. msnbc finds itself in a controversy. >> yeah, so now the start of this whole thing, on cnn reliable sources saying how can he be an activist, attend these rallies and still cover this show? here's how. really simply. that's what we do. we have opinions. that's the new world. i mean what are you from 1948? al sharpton is doing something great here. he should get praise for this. he's bringing this to light in a very positive way. that's the best thing we can do

. >> welcome to politics nation, i'm al sharpton, tonight, dramatic new video that could turn the trayvonartin case upside down. and bring us one step closer to justice. this new sanford police video shows trayvon's killer, george zimmerman arriving at the police station just minutes after the shooting. >> well, it was roughly 45 minutes after the shooting, according to the time stamp on the tape, but does it show us anything? >> maybe, maybe not. maybe there was a medic called to the scene who cleaned up blood had there been blood. we don't know. and remarkable two things. the shooting take place on february 23rd. weeks went by before anybody heard about this case. what happens in the interim. that's something that should be investigated and reported. the other point just like with the obamacare coverage on the supreme court this week, we've had an orgy of rampant speculation, one photo line and a video came out and another narrative and nobody knows for sure, it's incredibly irresponsible for members of the media and particularly members of congress to go out better to go out with the r