WASHINGTON -- The Congressional Caucus on Black Men and Boys is holding its first-ever meeting on Wednesday, and Tracy Martin, the father of slain teenager Trayvon Martin, will be in attendance.
The panel invited Martin to attend the meeting as a special guest, according to a press release. Martin will meet privately with caucus members ahead of the meeting and then stay for its duration. The topic of the meeting is "The Status of Black Males: Ensuring Our Boys Mature Into Strong Men."
The caucus previously announced three speakers for Wednesday's meeting, but did not mention Martin would be there. Expected speakers include MSNBC host and Georgetown University professor Michael Eric Dyson, former congressman and NAACP President Kweisi Mfume, and David J. Johns, the head of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans.
The caucus was created in March and is led by Rep. Danny Davis (D-Ill.) and Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), both members of the Congressional Black Caucus.
Norton's office confirmed that Martin will be giving opening remarks at the hearing.
The meeting comes less than a week after President Barack Obama weighed in on the not guilty verdict in Martin's case and put the spotlight on the nation's struggles with racial bias toward black men and boys.
"There are very few African-American men in this country who haven't had the experience of being followed when they were shopping in a department store," Obama said Friday. "That includes me."
This story was updated reflect the fact that Martin will deliver remarks at the hearing.