Malik Zulu Shabazz: New Black Panthers Planning April 9 'Day of Action

[Scroll down for audio.]

The National Chairman of the New Black Panther Party, Malik Zulu Shabazz, appeared on the syndicated radio program The Muslim Street Sunday night to discuss his party's initiatives regarding Trayvon Martin.

The New Black Panthers made news last week when they released "Wanted: Dead or Alive" posters for George Zimmerman, who shot and killed 17-year old Trayvon Martin, and then offered a $10,000 reward for his capture.

"We wanted, and want, and demand that Zimmerman be brought to justice and brought to trial immediately," Shabazz said, "and if that had been done we wouldn't even be discussing the 'reward' topic."

Shabazz continued by revealing a national "day of action" scheduled for April 9, a day before a grand jury is scheduled to begin hearing the case.

"This Saturday in Sanford, Florida the New Black Panther Party will be conducting county-wide and state-wide defense training and community patrols to protect against racial violence and attacks, and people like Zimmerman..." he said.

"[Then] On Monday, April 9 we have teamed up with over 300 organizations in a national and international coalition and are calling for a national strike...and a day of absence, where there is no work, no school, and no shopping in the cause of justice for Trayvon and the immediate arrest of Zimmerman and charging him with the appropriate charges."

He explained: "We're talking now here about community patrols, laying a structure for defense [training] in the communities where men and women will know how to deal with this violence and police misconduct...and we're talking about a national strike and using the power of our labor and our dollars to affect justice."

More audio from WTAM-AM (Clearwater, FL):

Complete interview with Malik Zulu Shabazz on WTAM-AM: