Beyoncé pens open letter about police shootings: 'Stop killing us'

Beyoncé posted a powerful letter Thursday on her website, sharing her grief and anger over the officer-involved shootings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile.

"We are sick and tired of the killings of young men and women in our communities," she wrote. "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." It doesn't matter a person's "race, gender, or sexual orientation," she continued, this is a "fight for anyone who feels marginalized, who is struggling for freedom and human rights." Her letter wasn't a "plea to all police officers, but toward any human being who fails to value life. The war on people and all minorities needs to be over."

Beyoncé called on people to channel their anger and frustration into action by contacting politicians and legislators to "demand social and judicial changes." While the shootings may leave people feeling hopeless, "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," she wrote. During her concert Thursday night in Glasgow, Beyoncé held a moment of silence, and displayed the names of police brutality victims on a giant screen.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up