Beyoncé pays tribute to Dallas police officers

By William Hughes  |  July 9, 2016 | 8:29pm
Aux Features Music

Beyoncé made headlines two days ago when she posted an essay on her web site, decrying the deaths of black men Alton Sterling and Philando Castile at the hands of Louisiana and Minnesota police. “Fear is not an excuse,” she wrote. “Hate will not win.”

On Thursday night, a few hours after the artist posted her statement, a gunman opened fire on police officers protecting a Black Lives Matter protest in Dallas, Texas. 12 officers were shot, with five eventually dying of their wounds. Now, the singer and Lemonade creator has posted a tribute video to the murdered police officers on her Instagram, along with a new statement condemning violence in all its forms.

Rest in peace to the officers whose lives were senselessly taken yesterday in Dallas. I am praying for a full recovery of the seven others injured. No violence will create peace. Every human life is valuable. We must be the solution. Every human being has the right to gather in peaceful protest without suffering more unnecessary violence.

To effect change we must show love in the face of hate and peace in the face of violence.

Beyoncé isn’t the only performer to publicly decry the events of Thursday night, and call for an end to violence in all its forms. Fruitvale Station star Michael B. Jordan—who played Oscar Grant III, a man shot in the back by transit police in 2009, in the 2013 film—also posted a statement to social media. “I care about the safety of my black brothers and sisters and my blue ones too,” he wrote, as part of a longer statement that paid tribute to the killed officers while not ignoring the need for change. “There are no adequate words for the fallen officers in Dallas. From the bottom of my heart, I thank them for protecting the peaceful protestors, their courage and effort to support us is what we need more of.” You can read his full statement below.

 
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