Q&A: Daniel Maree, Organizer of NYC 'Million Hoodies March'

1 year ago

Filmmaker and media maven says hoodie will change from 'symbol of suspicion to a symbol of empowerment'

Daniel Maree experienced the same feelings of outrage that many have expressed, after officials released the 911 tapes that are purported to include the last screams of help from 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.

But instead of only re-posting to Facebook or transmitting to Twitter, the 24-year-old filmmaker and communications professional banded together with friends to organize a rally in support of justice for Martin, whose killer, 28-year-old George Zimmerman, has admitted to shooting the teen in a Sanford, FL gated community and has not been arrested by police.

Just after noon on Wednesday, Maree and a Martin family attorney confirmed Trayvon's parents will attend "A Million Hoodies March for Trayvon Martin" and speak to demonstrators. Maree took time to fill Loop 21 in on the genesis of this now nationally-recognized march.

Loop 21: Sanford, FL is more than 1,000 miles away from New York City. Why hold a rally there?

Daniel Maree: Really, the only answer is that I felt compelled to do something. I figure we can show solidarity no matter where we are, no matter what part of the world. Thanks to the power of social media … it so happened that a day after we called for the rally, it was announced that the FBI was going to be taking over the investigation. So it just kind of worked out that it became a national sort of thing.

Loop 21: When did you first get the idea and how quickly has it come together?

Maree: It was the exact same day (that Maree’s video was released). I read an (National Public Radio) article about Trayvon Martin, and listened to the (911 tape) recordings, and was so upset and outraged by it that I felt compelled to right a blog post about it. I got home from work and I was still feeling like there was more that I wanted to do.