( CNN ) -- The parents of Trayvon Martin joined thousands of Americans at more than 100 scheduled vigils in cities nationwide demanding Saturday what they described as justice for their 17-year-old son , who was shot dead last year . `` It 's overwhelming , '' Tracy Martin told CNN at a rally in Miami attended by hundreds of supporters , many of whom chanted , `` No Peace ! No Justice ! '' `` It sends a message to the nation that we 're not going to sit back and let our children be killed and do n't say anything about it . '' Surveying the crowd , he said , `` This is what keeps us going -- all of these people that are out here to support us : white , black , brown . There 's a mixture of people . Everybody is out to support not only Trayvon , but their children as well . '' Last week , a jury in Sanford , Florida , found neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman not guilty of second-degree murder in the 2012 killing outside Tracy Martin 's house . Zimmerman , a white Hispanic , said he fired in self defense after Trayvon Martin attacked him . The unarmed teen was carrying a soda and a bag of candy . On Friday , President Barack Obama said Trayvon Martin `` could have been my son ... could have been me , 35 years ago . '' He also encouraged more attention to racial profiling and `` stand your ground '' laws . Obama : 'Trayvon Martin could have been me ' Tracy Martin said Saturday the president 's remarks `` touched our heart . '' `` We admire the president for stepping up and doing that because it sends a message to the world that this could have been anybody 's child and there 's no exceptions as to whose child it could have been , '' he said . `` We have to do something to corral the senseless violence . '' Martin predicted he would never recover from the death , but said , `` We 're moving forward now . '' During his remarks to the crowd , Martin teared up , saying about his son , `` He did nothing wrong and we 're not going to let them persecute him the way that they have . '' In New York , Trayvon Martin 's mother Sybrina Fulton was to be joined by her surviving son Jahvaris Fulton and the Rev . Al Sharpton . `` God is healing my heart this very moment , '' Sybrina Fulton said in a tweet . `` But as I watch so many people come together , he reminds me that we have a lot of work to do . '' Sharpton and the National Action Network are urging the Justice Department to consider criminal civil rights charges against Zimmerman . In Los Angeles , where violence broke out after the verdict in Zimmerman 's favor , the tone was upbeat and peaceful on Saturday . Hundreds of people had assembled by 9 a.m. outside the federal courthouse to underscore their message `` that , as a community , we need to come together and we need to support justice for Trayvon , '' said Donna Wade , one of the demonstrators . `` That we need to do it in a peaceful manner . '' Are you at a rally ? Share photos , video . Journalist David Simpson contributed to this report .
Obama 's comments `` touched our heart , '' says Tracy Martin . The singer and actress said she was "shocked" by the president's comments. `` It sends a message to the nation , '' says Trayvon Martin 's father .