Campaigners against racist murders by police committed acts of civil disobedience across the St Louis region of Missouri on Monday.

They commemorated what they called Moral Monday, despite pounding rain and tornado watches as part of a four-day Ferguson protest over the deadly shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown by a white police officer on August 9.

The weather didn’t deter hundreds of protesters outside Ferguson police headquarters, where they stayed for almost four hours to mark how long Mr Brown’s body was left in the street after he was shot.

In addition to the initial march on Ferguson police headquarters, they held a loud rally inside St Louis City Hall, disrupted business at a Ferguson shopping centre, blocked the entrance to a Wal-Mart store and tried to crash a private Democratic Party fundraiser.

Protesters announced plans to picket a second Wal-Mart in the St Louis suburbs.

More than 50 people were arrested, including scholar and civil rights activist Cornel West, who was among 42 people held for disturbing the peace at the Ferguson police station.

Some protesters used a megaphone to read the names of people killed by police nationwide.

Christian, Jewish and Muslim clergy members, some of whom were among the first arrested, led a prayer service before marching to the station two blocks away.

“My faith compels me to be here,” said Bishop Wayne Smith of the Episcopal Diocese of Missouri outside Ferguson police headquarters.

“I want to show solidarity and call attention to the structural racism of St Louis.”