“Trayvon Martin could have been me 35 years ago. ...

”I think it's important to recognize that the African-American community is looking at this issue through a set of experiences and a history that doesn't go away. There are very few African Americans in this country who haven't had the experience of being followed when they were shopping in a department store. That includes me. 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. “That happens to me--at least before I was a senator. There are very few African-Americans who haven't had the experience of getting on an elevator and a woman clutching her purse nervously and holding her breath until she had a chance to get off. That happens often.”

-- Pres. Barack Obama at a White House press briefing, commenting on the Trayvon Martin case, the George Zimmerman verdict, and “Stand Your Ground” laws.

Full transcript and video here.

Related: In 2003, when Obama was mistaken for a waiter.