Beyonce urges fans to fight for the rights of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile

by Sara Ritsch
Staff Writer

(July 7, 2016) - The shooting deaths of two black men within days of each other by officers of the law are the latest in a spate of such cases that have made headlines nationwide for the Black Lives Matter movement.

According to the Associated Press, “A Minnesota officer fatally shot a man — identified by relatives as 32-year-old Philando Castile — while he was in a car with a woman and a child in in Falcon Heights, a St. Paul suburb. The aftermath of the Wednesday shooting was purportedly livestreamed in a widely shared Facebook video, which shows a woman in a vehicle with a man whose shirt appears to be soaked in blood telling the camera ‘police just shot my boyfriend for no apparent reason.’”

The woman, girlfriend Diamond Reynolds, said Castile did "nothing but what the police officer asked of us, which was to put your hands in the air and get your license and registration."

A day earlier, 37-year-old Alton Sterling was shot multiple times in the chest, close-range, and killed by two police officers outside a Baton Rouge, Louisiana, convenience store where he was selling CDs. Cellphone videos of the shooting set off angry protests and catalyzed further the Black Lives Matter movement.

Today, Beyoncé Knowles posted on her website a statement in honor of the lives of people of color. It reads powerfully as a plea to save the lives of innocent black men and women who have suffered at the hands of law enforcement. It then links her fans to multiple pages, leading them to appeal to their legislators.

“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.

To contact your Congressman or woman click here.

To voice protest for Alton Sterling, click here.

To voice protest for Philando Castile, click here.

Her statement reads:

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.

Click to contact the politicians and legislators in your area. Your voice will be heard.

-Beyoncé

The Gayly urges readers to click above and voice their protests in favor of the Black Lives Matter movement. Be heard.

The Gayly - 7/7/2016 @ 3:24 p.m. CDT