The unarmed black 17-year-old was shot and killed in Florida in February 2012.

 

George Zimmerman, 29, said he opened fire on the teenager in self-defence and was acquitted¹ of murder by a Florida court last week.

 

In an unexpected press call, Mr Obama said very few black men in the US had not experienced racial profiling.

 

Mr Obama said the pain that African-Americans felt around the case came from the fact that they viewed it through "a set of experiences and a history that doesn't go away".

 

He said African Americans were also keenly aware of racial disparities in the application of criminal laws.

 

"That all contributes to a sense that if a white male teen was involved in the same kind of scenario², both the outcome and the aftermath might have been different," Mr Obama said.

 

He shared his experiences of being racially profiled in the past, such as being followed while out shopping.

 

"There are very few African-American men who haven't had the experience of walking across the street and hearing the locks click on the doors of cars.

 

"There are very few African-Americans who haven't had the experience of getting on an elevator and a woman clutching her purse nervously³ and holding her breath until she has a chance to get off," he said.

点击收听单词发音