the killing of 17-year-old trayvon martin in 2012 was a pivotal marker of racial bias against black men in the 21st century. martin was killed by george jimerson, a white man who called the police when he saw -- george zimmerman, a woman who called the police when he saw him. he called the police and said he looked suspicious and like he was quote up to no good were on drugs or something. ignoring the dispatchers warning that he should not follow martin, zimmerman ultimately shot and killed him. martin was unharmed and was on his way back to his father's house after buying snacks at a local convenience store. initially zimmerman was not charged with a crime. but after nationwide protest he was charged with martin's murder. a jury ultimately acquitted him. the killing of trayvon martin, the initial failure of the prosecutor to charge george zimmerman with a crime and is zimmerman's ultimate acquittal captured the attention of the nation. president obama even weighed in stating, quote trayvon martin could have been me 35 years ago. martin skilling also inspired the phrase, black lives mat

trayvon martin's 17. tamir rice was 12. you know? these are young people, so young people are affected by this. and i wanted to write it for them. >> reporter: the main character, starr, sees her best friend killed. he's an unarmed black teenager. and she will only refer to the officer by his badge number, 115. why did you decide to do that? >> starr is raised to believe that names have power. she doesn't want to give him the power that she feels like he's taken so much from her as it is. so referring to him by his badge number instead of by his name to her says, "what you did in that moment did not seem human to me, therefore i'm not sure i can humanize you by calling you by your name." >> reporter: the title is a modern twist on the biblical lesson "as you sow, so shall you reap," and the phrase "the hate u give" is borrowed from thomas' favorite hip hop artist, tupac shakur. when you reduce the book title to an acronym, it spells t-h-u- g, "thug". >> tupac had a tattoo across the abdomen that said thug life. and a lotta people don

i think about trayvon martin. i think about philando castile. samir rice. so many people who had the experience i had better not here to tell the story. so that is what it is. amy: them we look at segregation in alabama. >> and the name of the greatest people that have ever draw this area, i joined a line in the segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever. amy: that was alabama governor george wallace in 1963. we will speak to "new york times magazine" reporter nikole hannah-jones about how segregation is returning to alabama's public schools. all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. hurricane irma, thmost powerful atlantic storm ever recorded, laid waste to parts of the caribbean overnight, pummeling turks an turks and caicos. the storm's death toll rose to 18, but officials warned that figure will increase as rescue workers search or the rubble of islands that have seen over 90% of all buildings destroyed. irma we can slightly as it pushed west and was downgraded f

unamerican what happened to trayvon martin. what's the most american thing you can do?ight for equality for everybody. >> reporter: a move reminiscent of colin kaepernick's controversial protels on the field last season. colin kaepernick, has he reached out to me? >> he's reached out, we're good friends. we talk all the time. we just talked about this situation. he just prayed for me and just wished -- glad that i'm alive. so i was able to just talk about it as friends and brothers about this and how to move forward and deal with the trauma and stuff like that. >> reporter: he says the toughest conversation about what happened has been with his children. >> it's very hard. because it's like, to tell them that, look, it doesn't matter and to explain to her about racially profiled and do all this stuff. and she just couldn't understand it. as a people we shouldn't have to tell our kids that they matter, that they should careful where they go at night, that they shouldn't wear certain things because they might get racially profiled. >> michael bennet is a world-class athle

of the protests has been largely ignored young black men killed without consequences for the trayvon martin what it is the case of. brown in ferguson around the king beating and the l.a. . and these protests a cabin x. is all wrong and that never had been there was a flag have mass and it took place either so do you think the president should have just stayed out of it at least to the right side of history because of the people speaking to him at the fact if a confederate flags and the protests atlanta confederate flag. confederate symbols which are the real divisive elements of a society. but him to refer to those who protests as being s.o.b.'s that's beneath the dignity of disk common street talk that involve the play his mother as it may people neil who had not planned imus then neil in vote but i think all of the hypocrites about ninety lowness for the don't front with their money and they have said nothing as they colluded to boycott cole and call him cap and they boycott him is that they were not going to him play this year now they should become when they have the right to play this

of the protests has been largely ignored young black men killed without consequences for the trayvon martin whether it is the case of. brown in ferguson around the king beating and the l.a. . and these protests a cabin excess or rome and the never never put a flag have mass into place either so do you think the president should have just stayed out of it at least to build the riots either he has to because of the people speaking to in my the fact if i the confederate flags and the protests that planned the confederate flag. confederate symbols with all the real divisive elements of about society. for him to refer to those who protests as being this will be that's been need to dig into because common street talk that involve the play his mother's it may people neil who had not planned imus then kneel in vote but i think all of the hypocrites about my diplomas also for the don't trust with their money and they had said nothing as they colluded to boycott colin kahl and happening they boycott him is that what i believe in play this year now they should become will you have the right to play th

a few years ago, president obama addressed the trave on martin -- trayvon martin case at the united nations cheney said going to the discussing america's problems is not what we expect from a president. that's not what you heard from donald trump. he said we have been a force for good and we will continue to be. my responsibility and duty is to the people of america. he hit the soviet union and cuba and the death struggle over communism and what it's done the people. i think mara is right for there was a little bit for everybody in this speech. could've been the best speech of the presidency so far. >> bret: i've talked about this earlier. the joint address, saudi arabia, warsaw, the outlier of afghan policy. in the the -- you saw the outlf a trump doctrine. >> i think the doctrine comes down to a hardheaded realism but as a realism in the sense of articulate what kind of government identifying the flaws of government, for example. iran and venezuela. standing up and articulating specific challenges in terms of american interests, why you have to address particular issues. i do think on the

a horrible story on trayvon martin. was chasing after him with a gun. >> this is going to be big. >> the fifth anniversary of your show. this is a

everything that's going on, you know the social justice situations all through starting with trayvon martin, players have been much more aware. the players have been out there. doug baldwin from the seattle sea hawks has done a great job. he's met with the chief of the police department in seattle. he's spoken and had meetings with the washington state attorney general's office. these guys are -- and again, doug baldwin is one of many. a number of players have been moving this needle. and so they just see the president as another obstacle. they've done a great job of making sure this narrative isn't taken away by the president, and it stays where it was always meant to be in the very beginning, and that's for social issues. >> thank you. i really appreciate the conversation. i want to bring in now -- here we go, guys. thank you so much for coming on. the president says the issue of kneeling has nothing to do with race. it's about respect for our country. flag and national anthem, nfl must discuss this. if that's not about patriotism, then what is? what is he talking about, david? >> so, don

this is about the fact that trayvon martin -- no! this is absolutely about race and that's why colin kaepernick took a knee and when you have the current president of the united states -- >> let him respond. >> and inserts himself into the conversation. >> why don't you -- >> let him respond. >> -- call colin capper and tell colin kaepernick that if this is what it's about, why would you wear a t-shirt supporting fidel castro, who is only in power because of brutality against people? he used the police to be brutal and to shut people up and to kill them and they disappear and go to prison and political disdense. he wore a t-shirt -- >> we can have a whole conversation about cuba. >> let him make his point. >> the second thing is this. colin kaepernick, if you -- don't lecture me, go talk to kaepernick and say don't be an idiot. actually go out there and register to vote and be involved. if you're going to be a leader then maybe register to vote -- >> ben, ben, ben, outside -- ben, ben, wait a minute. as another conservative, outside

i remember the two big racial incidents that happened with president obama with trayvon martin he saidd remember when he had an incident with that professor that cambridge professor, when he said the police acted stupidly from the white house. what do you think the best role for the president in something like this when this is his first taste of racial unrest? i could not say the first taste. >> not really the first taste of it. honestly, you know, i don't know why the president would weigh in on this particular situation. because this isn't a white house issue. this isn't a federal government issue. this is an issue of a community that needs to come together and talk with their law enforcement agencies. this is a community that needs to stand up. this is a community, look, i lived in st. louis, i live blocks from the arch. i had a drug den open up just blocks from me. i had one open up on the end of my street before i left st. louis. the problem is that racial disparity -- the problem is a political party that has ran this city into a hole in the ground, brian. that's the problem wit

like around the trayvon martin case and others. because really we're calling for attention on the issues. and what is so to me so distracting is the president ought to be addressing the issues of inequality rather than distracting us with name calling. deal with what they're protesting about, mr. president. and that's why i said the talkous and othecaucus and others should take a knee and we should force them to deal with the educational inequality and inequality in the criminal justice system congressman meeks, not just to call people names or their mother's names. deal with your policies. >> i agree with you. i don't know if this president has the intelligence to deal with it. he is clearly not put people around. look at the people he put in for secretary of education who doesn't understand education. climate change is out. i don't know if we have the first incompetent president of my time, that's for sure, and the only one that i know. i don't know if he's competent enough to deal with those issues. when i look at how he's -- wh

trayvon martin, that-mile-per-hour rice, sandra bland, no conviction for their murders. you have all of these systemic issues that leads people to kneel. i do want to point out something that paris was kind of right on in his own way. what you saw yesterday was observers coming down to the field. you have owners like daniel snider and jerry jones who donat donated $1 million to the president in his campaign. but when he -- they weren't looking arms with anybody. when he was talking about and picking on a "the washington post" reporter for being disabled. when he was talking about grabbing women by their private parts. the last goes on and on. between them and ray lewis and jim brown, it's all good and dandy but we're out here protesting systemic injustices they were protesting their feelings being hurt. >> paris, i want you to be able to respond. >> yeah, you know what, listen, i think he makes excellent points as to why some of the people, especially colin kaepernick takes the knee. my only point is, the act of taking the knee or not putting your hand over your heart or

the real question is why is trayvon martin laying in a cask casket.ichael brown and alton sterling and the list goes on and on of people laying in a casket, and we're talking about whether you're kneeling or standing. i just think it's a tough conversation, and i think it deserves a real honest discussion. and i don't think that this president is given us that. by the way, we've sent him letter after letter after letter. 130-page book about how we start to address racial problems, how we help the african-american community, how we help rural communities and poor communities. and he has not responded to any of them. >> do you think he read it? >> absolutely not. he didn't read it. the attorney general is who i said he was when i testified against him. he is a racially challenged man from alabama and this president chose to go to alabama to start this with no nfl football team. but here is what i would say, don. there are great nfl football players. players like mark inc. gram, who helps kids with incarcerated parents that they can achieve their dream.

enforcement either taking their lives unnecessarily of the hit by the cases of michael brown in and trayvon martin or whether thinking about other issues and whatnot that affected the african-american community the demonstrations have been out on the streets in the sidewalks prior to this and it's good to see these issues lifted up by somebody like mr cafferty who is of course a professional football player how much of these protests in the public in the public arena are promoted or provoked if you like by what's been happening within the world of sports or is this just a continuation of a feeling that's been on the streets for a long time was a continuation of what's happening in our streets in our neighborhoods and across our country when mr kaplan first began talking about why he as the term goals took in the it was to show a protest to how african-americans were treated by law enforcement that is our police officers in our neighborhoods our highway patrol officers on our nation's highways and byways and other places throughout our country how much of this is turning into a split between the wa

land not one more to me arise not one more hour governor not one more time sterling not one more trayvon martin and not one more from linda castillo. none of us are free until august no one no longer generation. i've seen this go on. if you're following along with this conversation online to get in touch with us the hash. of a thank you far is going to be here with your sports news in a moment first let's check somebody with. it's gone as far as. possible with a bit since following the example set by both athletics and football october the first marks a milestone in international basketball as a longstanding ban on head coverings is officially lifted basketball players can now where religious headgear on the court as long as they don't protrude or cause injury to the user or other players the change was approved earlier this year after a sustained online campaign the new rule not only helps muslim women players but also members of the sikh an orthodox jewish communities they campaign to get the ban overturned was spearheaded by simran saying he's the senior religion fellow for the c. coalition

we are here for trayvon martin. this historic event has brought us here, pass doors, imams, clergy, we are here for michael brown. castile. we are here to protect voting rights. we are here to let our president know we will not stand for racism. we will not stand for bigotry. we will stand together against you and where there is no justice, there will be no peace. thank you very much. >> we appreciate dr. williams. that's how you do it. joining us now the virginia baptist state convention president. the reverend dr. charles whitfield. please welcome him. >> brothers and sisters good afternoon. as we stand here today, the message of dr. martin luther king jr. is the strength on which we stand. which is something bigger than each and every one of us. i stand together representing the 650 churches of the virginia baptist state convention. can i suggest what we preach a jesus gospel. social justice is what jesus preached. proverbs 27:7 the righteous is concerned for the rights of the poor. but the wicked does not unders

celebrated the fifth year -- not celebrated but recognized the fifth year anniversary of the death of trayvon martin which is really the reason why my organization exists. and so the reason why we're having a the reason why we're having a conversation about race and agendas is because black people have been in the streets since then. that continued to be kmabt impacted by police. and i also think when we talk about agendas, it's not in response to what a reaction of what's happening in the moment, but also it's about building a whole new rule that doesn't exist yet. and for black people, the world that we imagine actually has never existed. so in order for us to build a vision that's about blacks and building independent political power, we need to think along some of those lines of what's not even possible. what is pragmatic right now, but to get us about what can be possibly. i like to do this exercise around that when we talk about what's possible, we also have to get grounded on what society has told us. so if everyone closes their eyes for a second and thinks about what makes them feel safe. wh

when i was down doing the trayvon martin folks were going to burn that town down. they said listen, let's have a conversation. i stood before that body and i said before you burn this town down let's let some professionals give you advice on how to better accomplish the mission, which is to challenge the system. >> i was in sanford. >> right. >> and we have seen very little change. so i preeappreciate that. at some point we as a kplunty have to understand who are our internal allies. to your point it may not mean that you have officers on the front line of a rally as much as you have officers that are willing to provide intell some of those have to be family conversations. i don't know that i'm hearing you acknowledging officers humanity. what does it have to give for them to voice what's wrong in a department even to congressman lewis's point at the putting things on the line. >> we have to make sure that the right folks are in there. we have now seen through technology and others racial profiling is back whether you realize it or not it's back. it's back live and

a horrible story on trayvon martin. he wasn't standing his ground, he was chasing after him with a gun. >> this is going to be big. >> the fifth anniversary of your show. this is a proclamation. >> wow! obviously, this is not just a boston event. it's an international event. >> they were there to watch their father, to watch their dad cross the finish lines, instead they lost an 8-year-old do you like vladmir putin comments about you. >> sure, he killed journalists. >> i think our country does a lot of killing, also, joe. >> what is aleppo? >> you are kidding? >> no. >> joe, joe, joe! >> a long time coming. what a moment. >> and i move that hillary clinton be selected as the nominee of the democratic party. >> i make up and have been here a heck of a long time. >> i will faithfully execute the oflsz of president of the united states. [ applause [ applause ] >> i just got a quick question. what are they doing up this early? >> it's really early. but we're celebrating ten years. that's actually barely scratching the surfa