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George Zimmerman verdict spurs rallies around U.S.

Demonstrators protest in front of the Seminole County

Photo credit: Getty Images | Demonstrators protest in front of the Seminole County Criminal Justice Center where a jury is deliberating in the trial of George Zimmerman in Sanford, Florida. Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer, is on trial for the February 2012 shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. (July 13, 2013)

From New York to California, demonstrators are rallying against a Florida verdict acquitting George Zimmerman in the death of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin.

Protests are planned in cities including Boston, New York City, Chicago and San Francisco on Sunday, a day after a jury found the former neighborhood watch volunteer not guilty. The case unleashed debate across the U.S. over racial profiling, self-defense and equal justice.

Civil rights leaders, including the Revs. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, have urged peace. Jackson says the legal system "failed justice," but violence isn't the answer.


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After the verdict, some angry protesters in Oakland, Calif., broke windows, burned flags and started small street fires. In Florida, about 200 demonstrators marched in Tallahassee carrying signs that said "Racism is Not Dead" and "Who's Next?"

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