Two black men have been shot and killed by police officers over the past few days. 37-year-old Alton Sterling was killed last Tuesday in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, while 32-year-old Philando Castile was shot in Minnesota the day after. Sterling allegedly threatened a homeless man with a gun, provoking the latter to call 911. The video reveals that, while pinned to the ground, the officers shouted "he's got a gun", firing shots to Sterling, immediately killing him. On the other hand, Castile had been driving around with his girlfriend Lavish Reynolds when the cops pulled them over for a broken taillight. Reaching for his unseen license, the cop planted four bullets on his arm, thinking he was going for the visible gun. He was reported dead not long after.
Two separate shootings in two consecutive days. Shootings in the US isn't an entirely alien phenomenon, especially with the predominance of gun culture, and the existence of people who actively defend the unnecessary usage of firearm, despite the viral videos showing what really happened, who do nothing but censor the fact that it HAD something to do with skin color.
Clearly not everyone is blind to what's apparent, and true enough, artists have been voicing out what most people choose to negate. Drake pens this open letter in response to the Sterling incident:
Beyonce, whose Formation tour is ongoing, posted an update on her website, rallying people to action. She encourages everyone to contact local congresspeople and protest against the recent shootings:
These moved other artists to express their frustrations online. Chance the Rapper, John Legend, Justin Timberlake, Katy Perry, and more also took to social media to express their disdain:
These guys murdered this man with his 4 year old daughter in the backseat? Is there any situation where police get arrested? Or convicted?
— Lil Chano From 79th (@chancetherapper) July 7, 2016
If you're a Judge, or a politician or a fellow officer with a Conscience, what does it tell you to do? As a human being what do you feel?
— Lil Chano From 79th (@chancetherapper) July 7, 2016
We should not have to jump through hoops to prove black people shouldn't be shot by police during routine traffic stops.
— John Legend (@johnlegend) July 7, 2016
We have fucking video proof and some of you still are all "well, uh, he shouldn't have moved his left leg so provocatively".
— John Legend (@johnlegend) July 7, 2016
So many people work so hard to find a reason why executing a human being during a routine traffic stop is ok. IT'S NOT OK
— John Legend (@johnlegend) July 7, 2016
HAS. TO. STOP. Devastating. https://t.co/C9Q0YePRMr
— Justin Timberlake (@jtimberlake) July 6, 2016
You can't just go on with your day, you must watch this & we must face this continual outrageousness #ALTONSTERLING https://t.co/NqW3aVSZ1j
— KATY PERRY (@katyperry) July 6, 2016
Our hearts go out to the families of the victims, and the next. There's no hiding from the probability that, at the rate we're going, more and more dead bodies are going to make headlines in the years to come. #BlackLivesMatter exists for a reason and washing it away with #AllLivesMatter in defense of equality would be to forget the exact reason why it became a movement in the first place: black oppression is an exclusive reality. It will continue to exist if we choose to ignore it as a specific system of oppression.
Photo credit: Time Magazine