A handful of people spoke at the rally, before the group of mixed ethnicity and age marched down Washington Boulevard in Detroit to rally at the Federal Building.

Even though Zimmerman was found not-guilty by a jury of his peers --

six women, all but one of them white --

Mirain Pickens, a 63-year-old Detroit resident, said she feels the “verdict is like saying open season” for racists.

"I think it was a travesty," she told MLive. "I feel like, under this system, there's no justice for Trayvon, there's no justice for any of the young black men that are being stalked and harassed."

Zimmerman, 28, was charged with second-degree murder. Zimmerman told police Martin attacked him after he had given up chasing the teenager and was returning to his truck. He told detectives that Martin knocked him to the ground and began slamming his head on the sidewalk. Martin was walking to his father's Sanford, Fla., townhome in a gated community when Zimmerman shot him on Feb. 26.

Early reports suggested that Zimmerman pursued Martin after spotting him, even after a 911 call where a dispatcher told him not to. But recently, officials said Martin may have attacked Zimmerman, prompting a shooting in self-defense.

Civil rights groups and others have held rallies around the country, saying the shooting was unjustified. During the rallies, many wear hooded sweatshirts, which Martin was wearing when he was shot.

Mertilla Jones, grandmother of Aiyana Jones who was shot and killed when police raided her home in search of murder suspect said the Trayvon Martin verdict is a travesty, just like her granddaughter's death. (Tanya Moutzalias | MLive.com)

Mertilla Jones was one of the rally speakers. Jones, grandmother of

who was shot and killed on May 16, 2010 when police raided her home in search of murder suspect Chauncey Owens, said the verdict is a travesty, just like her granddaughter’s death.

“I’m out here to fight any way, you know, for the other Aiyanas that’s to come because it ain’t stop at just my grand baby,” she told the crowd. “I’m out here for the fight. I’m out here for the long run.”

The Detroit rally was organized by numerous groups and is part of a national effort organized by the Trayvon Martin Organizing Committee. Groups represented at the rally included Detroit Coalition Against Police Brutality, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Green Party and the International Socialist Organization, among others.

Email Michael Wayland: MWayland@mlive.com and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/MikeWayland