Obama went on to address the race issue in the case, saying very few African American men haven't had the experience of being followed when shopping in a department store, of walking across the street and hearing the locks click on the doors of cars, and getting on an elevator and a woman clutching her purse nervously and holding her breath until she had a chance to get off.
He had those experiences himself, said Obama, the first black American elected president.
Combined with the history of racial disparities in the application of criminal laws in the country, Obama said those sets of experiences inform how the African-American community interprets what happened in the Martin case, while acknowledging the fact that African American young men are disproportionately involved in the criminal justice system.
Given the context, the president said it's "understandable" that there have been demonstrations, vigils and protests after the verdict was rendered.
But he condemned violence, saying violence "dishonors what happened to Trayvon Martin and his family."
A jury in Florida on Saturday night acquitted Zimmerman of second-degree murder and manslaughter charges in the shooting death of African American teenager Martin last year.
The acquittal sparked protests, some of them violent, around the country.
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