Obama calls for calm after Zimmerman acquittal President Barack Obama has called for calm as thousands have protested in cities across the US over the George Zimmerman acquittal. The verdict has been condemned by civil rights activists who claim the neighbourhood watchman was being racist when he shot dead a black teenager he wrongly thought was a criminal. The case has sparked a fierce debate in the country about what is known as racial profiling. Stacey-ann Chin was just one of the thousands of protesters who took to the streets on Sunday: I have a child, I have a black child growing up in New York City. And I felt I had to get out of my house today and to motivate the household and get everyone out to come and show a presence, some evidence of resistance, some evidence of our displeasure. Eighteen-year-old student Bryson Hoover-Hankerson said he believed there had been an injustice: If it had been a white boy who had been murdered and a black guy who had murdered him, would they have acquitted him? Hell no. He would have been jailed for life and then some. A 150 years - 200 years....however many years he could get. Zimmerman was cleared of all charges on the grounds of self-defence. The Florida court's decision has prompted the US Justice Department to look into a possible federal investigation. More about: Racism, USA