Michael Brown shooting: The poignant signs of protesters in Ferguson and beyond

People of all ages, races and religions have convened to protest the death of Michael Brown

Children hold signs on 15 August (Reuters)

A week of protests has seen the residents of Ferguson – a suburb of the city of St Louis – express their anger at racial profiling, police brutality and the clampdown on recent demonstrations.

Stories of Molotov cocktails being slung at police, who in turn lob back flash grenades and tear gas, has left a community reeling.

The unrest was sparked by the 9 August death of 18-year-old Michael Brown, a black teenager fatally shot by police after what officers say was an altercation.

An autopsy found that he was shot six times – twice in the head – with eye-witnesses claiming that the teenager had had his hands above his head at the time he was killed.

Most of the protesting has been non-violent, with residents congregating almost immediately after Brown’s death shouting "Don’t shoot me" and "No Justice! No Peace".

Impassioned demonstrators have created heart-felt and poignant signs to supplement their chants in Ferguson and elsewhere, after protests erupted in other US cities in solidarity.

Here are some of the best signs:

A protest on West Florissant Avenue in Ferguson on 18 August (Reuters)

Demonstrators on 17 August (Reuters)

Sign reads: 'My blackness is not a weapon' (Reuters)

Children hold signs on 15 August (Reuters)

Meanwhile, a crowdfunded campaign to keep the children of Ferguson fed while the turmoil continues has attracted donations of $72,000 (£43,200).

School teacher Julianna Mendelsohn, 33, said that when she found out that school had been cancelled for several days she became worried for the “students in households with food instability”.

“Many children in the US eat their only meals of the day, breakfast and lunch, at school. With school out, kids are undoubtedly going hungry,” she said.

The money will go to the St Louis Area Foodbank.