Social media tributes and ??? ? ??outrage continue to pour out in the wake of the killings of two black men at the hands of police officers.
Over the past 48 hours, the nation has been shaken by the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile. Sterling was killed outside a mini-mart in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, while selling DVDs. Castile was killed after being pulled over at a traffic stop in Falcon Heights, Minnesota. Both incidents were filmed and shared widely online.
As has happened in the aftermath of other similar killings, Sterling and Castile's names have become hashtagged symbols of injustice in an ongoing roll call of tragedy.
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Notable celebrities joined the collective grieving ritual on social media. Some simply mourned, while others called for action.
Chance the Rapper processed the events by asking his followers how they felt as humans with a conscience.
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Rapper Vic Mensa penned a call to action on Instagram, writing:
Does this face scare you? Would you cross the street if he asked if you wanted to buy a DVD? Would you even answer the question? We need to reprogram. Our nations past bleeds into our present by raising us to think black is something to fear. The police officer that killed him was so scared of the idea of a black man with a gun that it didn't matter if he was reaching for it or threatening at all. That fear took a father, a son, and a brother off of the earth all at the same time. If you're reading this and wondering if he deserved to die I want you to look yourself in the eye. Tell yourself that he was a human being with a family. A family that will never be the same. Tell yourself that you don't need to fear a man just because of the color of his skin. Tell yourself that his blood bleeds red just like yours. Tell yourself he feels fear just like you do. Tell yourself that he feels love just like you do. Tell yourself that you love him. Then go and tell your friends the same. We have to REPROGRAM. "Once you change your philosophy, you change your thought pattern. Once you change your thought pattern, you change your attitude. Once you change your attitude, it changes your behavior pattern and then you go on into some action." - MALCOLM X We have to change. And it starts with each of us.
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On Instagram, Solange sang lyrics from "Black Maybe," a 1972 song by Motown artist Syreeta, for comfort. "But what is comfort when the images of slain black bodies left to bleed are sketched into your being....over and over again," she wrote. She also highlighted the importance of recognizing the trauma inflicted upon children. Castile's daughter witnessed the shooting of her father.
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Actress and social activist Amandla Stenberg posted a reminder of the humanity of black men.
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Drake posted an open letter on Instagram, poignantly stating that "no one begins their life as a hashtag, yet the threat of being reduced to one continues."
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John Legend added an important element to the conversation, and challenged the National Rifle Association to protect those with concealed-carry permits. Castile was legally armed with a concealed-carry permit at the time of his death.
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Parks and Recreationactress and comedian Retta expressed her frustration on Twitter, alongside celebrities like Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Gabrielle Union.
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Snoop Dogg took a more visual approach to express his thoughts on the shooting. The rapper reposted over a dozen images from across the internet that painted a picture of his frustrations.
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