Demonstrators have taken to the streets in dozens of US cities over the acquittal in Florida of the man who shot dead unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin and to call for federal charges in the racially tinged case.
Hundreds marched in the summer heat to rally at federal courthouses in Miami, Chicago, Los Angeles and other cities.
They demanded "justice for Trayvon" and an end to racial profiling that they said was at the heart of the case.
The rallies came one week after a Seminole County jury in Florida returned verdicts finding George Zimmerman, 29, not guilty of second-degree murder and manslaughter in the February 2012 death of Trayvon.
Critics contend Mr Zimmerman, who is white and Hispanic, wrongly suspected Trayvon, 17, of being a criminal because he was black.
The neighbourhood watch volunteer called police to report Trayvon, then left his car with a loaded handgun concealed in his waistband.
A fight ensued in which Mr Zimmerman suffered a bloody nose and head injuries before he shot Trayvon once in the heart.
Trayvon's mother Sybrina Fulton led the protest in New York, scene of one of the largest rallies.
Roughly 2,000 people protested there, some carrying "Boycott Florida" signs or wearing T-shirts with Trayvon's picture.
"Trayvon was a child," she said. "I think sometimes it gets lost in the shuffle because as I sat in the courtroom, it made me think they were talking about another man. And it wasn't. It was a child."
She was joined at the event by hip-hop mogul Jay Z and his wife, Beyonce, along with New York City mayoral candidate Christine Quinn and civil rights activist Al Sharpton.
Mr Sharpton, who helped organise the nationwide rallies, said the celebrity couple did not want to speak at the rally but wanted to stand with Trayvon's family.
At a rally in Miami, Trayvon's father, Tracy, told supporters that after the acquittal he has "come to realise George Zimmerman wasn't on trial - Trayvon was on trial".
Groups want new charges brought against Zimmerman
Civil rights leaders had voiced hopes for peaceful protests after outbreaks of violence that earlier this week led to arrests in Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay area.
Mr Sharpton has said he hopes continued public pressure will force the US Department of Justice to bring federal civil rights charges against Mr Zimmerman.
Federal prosecutors say they are investigating whether Mr Zimmerman violated civil rights laws. Lawyers have said they think new charges are unlikely.
At the White House on Friday, President Barack Obama sided with those who say the shooting need not have happened, expressing sympathy to the Martin family.
He said the case was properly handled by the court in Florida but questioned "stand your ground" laws that have been adopted in 30 states.
Although Florida's stand your ground law was not cited by Mr Zimmerman's defence team, the jury was instructed that under the state's 2005 statute he had the right to use deadly force if he reasonably believed it was necessary to do so in self-defence.
About 2,000 people endured a downpour in Atlanta to hear speakers talk of the need for justice for Trayvon and other black youths.
Speakers there urged the crowd to register to vote and to seek repeal of Georgia's stand your ground law.
Martin Luther King III urged the audience to go to Washington, DC, on 24 August for the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington and his father's famous "I Have a Dream" speech.
"It's marching time, ladies and gentlemen," he said.
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