Beyonce responded to the latest police-involved shootings that left two men dead with the words “stop killing us.”
On Thursday, the 34-year-old singer wrote a letter on her website addressing the fatal shootings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile over the last few days. (RELATED: Drake After Alton Sterling’s Death: I’m ‘Concerned For The Safety Of My Family’)
(photo: REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni)
“We are sick and tired of the killings of young men and women in our communities,” Beyonce said. “It is up to us to take a stand and demand that they ‘stop killing us.’ We don’t need sympathy.”
“We need everyone to respect our lives,” she added. “We’re going to stand up as a community and fight against anyone who believes that murder or any violent action by those who are sworn in to protect us should consistently go unpunished. These robberies of lives make us feel helpless and hopeless but we have to believe that we are fighting for the rights of the next generation, for the next young men and women who believe in good.”
“This is not a plea to all police officers but towards any human being who fails to value life,” she continued. “The war on people of color and all minorities needs to be over. Fear is not an excuse.”
“Hate will not win,” she said. “We all have the power to channel our anger and frustration into action. We must use our voices to contact the politicians and legislators in our districts and demand social and judicial changes.”