Beyonce’ penned an open letter voicing her frustration and anger in the wake of the heartless killings of two African American men in as many days- 37 year old Alton Sterling of Baton Rouge, La.; and 32 year old Philando Castile of Falcon Heights, MD- at the hands of police officers.
Police shootings of innocent Black people have become so visible (I say visible instead of rapid, because they’ve been happening for decades, but social media and camera phones didn’t exist to catch the trigger-happy officers), that even the most non-confrontational artists, such as Beyonce, are now naturally drawn to these violent acts and are using their influence to speak out and press for action. Here’s what Beyonce’ wrote on her website:
‘We are sick and tired of the killings of young men and women in our communities. 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.
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 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 a human fight. No matter your race, gender or sexual orientation. This is a fight for anyone who feels marginalized, who is struggling for freedom and human rights. This is not a plea to all police officers but toward any human being who fails to value life. The war on people of color and all minorities needs to be over.
Fear is not an excuse. Hate will not win. 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. While we pray for the families of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, we will also pray for an end to this plague of injustice in our communities.’ -Beyonce’
If this were the 70s, we’d see our legends, like Stevie, Marvin Gaye, Muhammad Ali, Jane Fonda, and many more, protesting on the front lines and getting arrested if need-be to make sure that attention is brought to these injustices. We applaud Beyonce’ for taking a stand and hope that she and other celebs continue to do more to keep their famous foots on the necks of the justice system to help bring the awareness that can force change. We’re stronger in numbers. This is a human fight.
