Howard University students pose for group photo with hands in the air

Social media users have been sharing many incredible images coming out of Ferguson, Missouri, as tensions between police and demonstrators protesting the killing of an unarmed black teenager continue to flare. But one of the most powerful photos making the rounds on Twitter was taken hundreds of miles away at Howard University, the historically black college in Washington, D.C., as students gathered in an auditorium Wednesday for a move-in meeting.

The photo, showing hundreds of students with their hands in the air, was organized by Khalil Saadiq, a member of the Howard University Student Association, and promoted by the school. It pays tribute to 18-year-old Michael Brown, who witnesses said raised his hands in the air when he was shot and killed by police.

"We are proud of our students who have united peacefully to show they will not stand for the senseless violence anymore," the school said in a statement. "Thank you to the Howard University Student Association for leading and organizing this display of solidarity. #HandsUpDontShoot"

Megan Sims, one of the first students to tweet the photo, told Mother Jones magazine that the student body collectively "felt we needed to respond to the Mike Brown issue."

The image was later shared on Twitter by Benjamin Crump, the attorney for the family of Trayvon Martin, who is now representing Brown's parents.

Saadiq posted a larger version of the photo to Instagram.