Thousands of people took to the streets on Saturday in mostly peaceful nationwide protests and rallies for Trayvon Martin. Reverand Al Sharpton's National Action Network planned for 100 peaceful rallies in 100 cities across the country.

The rally in Los Angeles was originally advertised to begin at noon at the U.S. Courthouse on Spring Street in downtown Los Angeles, but the time was changed to 9:00am. Police officers with the Department of Homeland Security, whose jurisdiction includes the federal building and courthouse, said that between 600-700 protesters marched south from the courthouse to Leimert Park.

The protest on Saturday had to that point been peaceful, DHS officers said.  Only a handful of DHS officers were posted outside the federal building. The LAPD was not present, but had shut down streets along the marching route to Leimert Park.

By noon, only less than 200 protesters remained at the courthouse, many with signs and posters calling for justice for Trayvon Martin.  Vendors were also present, selling Trayvon Martin t-shirts and photos for $5. A Marxist-Humanist bookseller and spray paint stencil artist was also set up on the sidewalk.

The small and diverse crowd at the courthouse largely talked amongst themselves, with some standing on the sidewalk soliciting honks and thumbs up from passing cars. News vans lined the opposite side of the street. 

For the protesters who remained, the issue of racism and an unequal justice system was clearly at the forefront.

June, a young woman who came to her first Trayvon Martin protest with her friend on Saturday, said she was motivated not only by the acquittal of George Zimmerman, but also by the subsequent CNN interviews with "Juror B-37" on Anderson Cooper 360 and what she said was bias by the jury and ongoing issues of racism. 

Juror B-37, June said, "had a hidden agenda," and had already made up her mind before the trial.  She also didn't like how Juror B-37 was trying to sell a book after the verdict and referred to Zimmerman by his first name.

June also pointed to the fact that the jury was almost entirely white, a point that was repeated by many protesters on Saturday.

"There are minorities in [Sanford]," June said. "They could have put a Chinese person or a Japanese person on the jury, but they only put white people." 

As far as the police response to this protest and events earlier in the week in Leimert Park, June said that the LAPD was on its best behavior because "everyone has cameras so they can't do anything." She also spoke to the racial profiling she saw in the Trayvon Martin killing and her own personal experiences with police.

"You don't know how we feel," June said. "You can stand and listen to what we are saying, but you won't really understand. I get stopped by police in my car four days a week."

Another protester, Tracy, said she came to the protests because she was saddened by the killing and thought that Trayvon was just "doing what young men do" when he went to the store on the night of February 26, 2012 to purchase Skittles candy and iced tea and was "chased down" by Zimmerman.

"It could have been me, it could have been you, it could have been my nephew," said Tracy, who followed the trial in pieces and listened to analysis on NPR.  This was her first protest for Trayvon Martin.

"I came straight from a 12-hour shift at work," Tracy said. "But it was important to be here, even if all I can do is hold up a sign."  She said she had seen photos of the earlier protests and wanted to make sure they stayed peaceful, because she "didn't want to go to jail today."

The issue of race was the critical theme for many protesters, who said that it was a "recurring issue" and that the time was right to stand up against it. 

John and Brenda, originally from Louisiana, said that they came to the protest on Saturday because it was symbolic and they had a subconscious drive to come and speak out.

"It's my duty," Brenda said. "It's my duty as a citizen and as an African-American."

John said he was angry and "pissed off" at the verdict and what he saw as a "recurring disease of racism," pointing to similar events like the murder of Emmett Till and subsequent sham trial in Mississippi in 1955.

"This is all I've ever known," said John. He called on African-American celebrities and entertainers, particularly in the hip-hop community, to speak out about Trayvon Martin.

Brenda also said she was upset by the verdict, particularly because she felt a close connection to Trayvon Martin's family. Her own son was shot and killed at the age of 16.

"I feel it was my duty to be out here for our young black men and women," Brenda said. "It's time for everything to come to an end."

"I don't know how Zimmerman can sleep at night," a nearby protester said.

"They've all been sleeping," replied John.

George, who came to the protest with his young son, said that the Trayvon Martin killing was something that affected all minority communities, not just African-Americans.

George said that he drove from Orange County to attend the protest because as a human being and a minority, he was outraged by the verdict and for the "murdering of a young boy for no reason." He had followed the trial online and participated in several online protests and wanted to show up on Saturday to express his strong emotions. George said that his son, who sat on the sidewalk holding a poster that said "Justice for Trayvon" and "Stop Stand Your Ground," was confused and curious about the case.

"We talked over dinner about it," George said. "He asked why the white guy had to kill the black boy.  He asked if he would kill more people."

For many of the protesters present at the U.S. Courthouse on Saturday, including George's son, those questions remain unanswered.

Another protest for Trayvon Martin is planned for next Saturday.

Reach Executive Producer Colin Hale here. Follow him on Twitter.