Sterling, then a 37-year-old black man, was shot several times at close range while held down on the ground by two Baton Rouge Police Department officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Media reports indicated that the police officers involved were attempting to control Sterling’s arms and he was shot after allegedly reaching for a gun in his pocket.

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The shooting was recorded by multiple bystanders and as a result, the shooting led to protests in Baton Rouge and a request for a civil rights investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice.

The Department of Justice investigated but in May 2017 decided that it would not file criminal charges against the police officers.

This issue hits close to home for Buffalo, NY lyricist J-Batters. See more here: 

Additionally, his “Justice 4 J Batters” docu-series touches on it and proclaims his innocence. 

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AP Photo/Max Becherer

A shooting has taken place in Baton Rouge that has left three police officers dead and three others wounded. Officials believe that it was the work of multiple gunmen that initiated the attack.

According to CNN, the police had received a tip that there was a ‘suspicious person walking down Airline Highway with an assault rifle.’ As soon as the police responded, the shooting began. After the attack on police officers in Dallas, officials fear that this may be the work of copycats. USA Today reports that officials have drones working in the area to make sure that there is no possibility of explosives. Both articles mention that relations between citizens and police officers have been tense after the death of Alton Sterling, an unarmed black man who died at the hands of the police earlier in the month.

President Barack Obama released a statement condemning the attacks. He stated he believed that the shooting and the one in Dallas are acts of violence with no justification, and that they ‘right no wrongs’ and ‘advance no causes.’

The latest update reports that one of the suspects, yet to be identified, has been killed. Police believe that there are still two more suspects at large that may be wearing army fatigues or black clothing and masks.

No motive for the shootings has been released.

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One of the many pairs of handcuffs which seized hands the night of the Alton Sterling protests has been let loose. DeRay McKesson, a prominent figure in the omnipresent Black Lives Matter movement, was arrested the night of July 9th in Baton Rouge, Louisiana during protests for the death of Alton Sterling, and released this morning.

McKesson spent part of the night livestreaming the protests on Periscope, including the moment he was chased and arrested along the Airline Highway.  When the officer confronts McKesson he can be heard saying “You’re under arrest…. Don’t fight me, Don’t fight me.” After a small verbal resistance, McKesson tells his viewers: “I’m under arrest y’all.”

McKesson was one of around 100 protestors arrested that evening. Throughout the night, he chronicled several instances where protestors and police interacted, be it for an arrest or intimidation. McKesson was grabbed up and apparently charged for “obstruction of highway commerce.”

Earlier that day, he remarked on Twitter saying: “If anything happens tonight, it was caused by the police. Everybody has been peaceful tonight but them.”

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In what has become routine since the killing of Trayvon Martin years ago in Florida, an onslaught of hashtags, articles, news conferences and statements from celebrities have flooded the Web following the killing of Alton Sterling and Philandro Castile by police officers. Beyoncé became the latest celebrity to join the fray, publishing an open letter on her website.

While the letter frames the importance of moving to action in the wake of these horrific tragedies by highlighting that we should be in this together, these statements are often left hanging, mistook for the action that’s needed, and, in the cacophony of social media and community outrage, ultimately becomes the peak of the cycle of tragedy, reaction, and consequence that that we get ensnared in after these killings.

On Tuesday night, Sterling was shot six times after being tackled and pinned to the ground by two officers who arrived to the scene after a call by a homeless man reporting that Sterling, who was selling CD’s outside the Triple S Food Mart in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, had pointed a gun at him; and after being pulled over for a broken rear light in Falcon Heights, Minnesota, Castile was shot four times in his car on Wednesday as he reached for his license and registration, as per the officer’s request. News of the killings spread as video of the shootings were posted online, sparking nationwide pain and calls for justice. Both these men were innocent, and if we are to do their innocence justice, we must respond by taking what we’ve learned and felt from the past and focus that into action that creates a better future for us.

Beyoncé’s letter followed that idea and took the celebrity response a step further, providing links to the Louisiana and Minnesota State Legislature sites, and contactingthecongress.org (which, after multiple attempts, doesn’t load), enabling those demanding action a way to contact lawmakers directly. Although Beyoncé’s celebrity allows her to reach a lot of people, it needs to be acknowledged that while the “Likes” and “Rewteets” and “Shares” these statements receive are important, they only serve as the beginning of a much larger effort for calculated, levelheaded responses to these fatal shootings.

President Obama provided an example of channeling response to action in a statement on Facebook, briefly talking about his Task Force on 21^st Century Policing that, with the help of officers, community leaders, and activists, created “detailed recommendations on how to improve community policing.”

His statement, Beyoncé’s letter, and the group of other popular figures—including Serena Williams’ shock—in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Justice’s opening of a civil rights investigation in Baton Rouge, are not only initial steps, but an example of the continued push for the change and progress this nation needs in order to confront these problems moving forward, as these investigations unfold, especially if we want to deliver proper justice these innocent victims deserve.

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In the wake of the fatal police shootings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, Jay-Z released “Spiritual,” a new track currently streaming on Tidal, including his voice among those of other celebrities offering support.

In a statement released on Tidal, the hip-hop mogul charted a backstory for the song, expressing that he was urged by Punch from Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) to drop the track after the killing of Michael Brown by a police officer in 2014, but detracted after thinking that “his death wouldn’t be the last.”

“I’m saddened and disappointed in THIS America – we should be further along,” Jay-Z continued. “I trust God and know everything that happens is for our greatest good, but man….it’s tough right now.”

“Spiritual,” Jay-Z’s first solo track since Magna Carta… Holy Grail in 2013, is a riff that accents the chorus “Just a boy from the hood/Got my hands in the air/in despair/don’t shoot/I just wanna do good” with the incantatory “I am not poison/No, I am not poison” which serve as a catalogue of phrases that continue to haunt the nation.

The statement ends with an observation from Frederick Douglass that highlights the consequences of oppression.

“Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe.”

Here’s “Spiritual” here.

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Protests were held Wednesday in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in the wake of the shooting of 37-year-old black man Alton Sterling by police. Protesters first gathered at the scene of the shooting Tuesday night and remained throughout Wednesday as a candlelight vigil was held.

Participants posted images and videos to Twitter showing people lining the streets outside of the Triple S Food Store where Sterling was shot. There, crowds of protesters held signs and chanted as passing cars honked their horns to show support. Some participants handed out water from the back of a truck as it passed through the street.

At the vigil, members of Sterling’s family expressed anger and grief while calling for peace and solidarity from the community.

“I’m angry, and I’m mad, because they took something from me that I’ll never get back,” said Sandra Sterling, speaking at the vigil for her nephew. “So y’all pray for me, but we’ve got to have peace and unity out here.”

Similar calls for peace and unity were echoed throughout the day, and so far, the protests have remained peaceful.

However, in spite of the restraint shown by protesters Wednesday, the nature of Sterling’s death places it at the forefront of an ongoing struggle against the disproportionate use of lethal force against black citizens in the U.S.

A protest water truck in #BatonRouge as hundreds gather in the heat demanding justice for Alton Sterling pic.twitter.com/GjYTtFkJbq

— Laura Bicker (@BBCLBicker) July 7, 2016

Sterling was shot Tuesday evening after being approached by two police officers outside of the Triple S, where he was known for selling CDs. WAFB-TV reports that the officers were responding to a 911 call about a man allegedly making threats with a gun.

Two videos shot by local bystanders have since emerged showing the officers wrestling Sterling to the ground and pinning him down before shooting him multiple times at close range, ending his life. The videos of Sterling’s death have raised a number of questions about the decision by the officers to use lethal force. Many, including Abdullah Muflahi, the owner of the Triple S, claim that Sterling was murdered outright.

The second video, taken by Muflahi himself and released by NBC News here, shows one of the officers pinning Sterling’s torso to the ground while the other officer holds Sterling’s legs. The second officer yells “He’s got a gun! Gun!” Then, the first officer draws his side arm and yells “Hey bro, you f**king move and I swear to God!” At least two gunshots follow as the yelling becomes unintelligible.

The camera moves away from the officers and Sterling as the scene becomes chaotic, but the gunshots continue. When the camera returns, Sterling is seen bloodied, grasping his chest. Although police say they removed a gun from Sterling’s pocket after the shooting, he does not appear to be holding a weapon at any point during the struggle.

Muflahi told CNN that the tapes from his security cameras were taken by police before he could see them. Further, while both of the officers involved were wearing body cameras, they became dislodged during the struggle and reportedly failed to record the incident in full.

It is unknown if either source of footage will provide further context to the circumstances surrounding the shooting. However, The Advocate reports that the U.S. Department of Justice and the FBI are now leading a civil rights investigation into the actions of the officers involved, and promising transparency in the process.

It remains to be seen whether the DOJ investigation will lead to charges against either of the officers. But in light of similar incidents in recent history, which failed to result in charges against the police officers involved, many remain skeptical that Sterling’s community will get the justice that they’re asking for.

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1.  Hip Hop artist, The Game, took to Instagram (@losangelesconfidential) to share his feelings on the deaths of these men and how he feels about this generation’s activism.

2. Drake also took to Instagram (@champagnepapi) with a heartfelt letter addressing the situation:

3. Kehlani (@kehlani) not only had something to say about the murders, she also addressed the various rude jokes and comments people had to say:

A lot more has to be done to stop this cycle of senseless deaths, but, in a time of such distress and uneasiness, it is nice to see some artists with huge platforms, voicing their opinions. Now to take these huge platforms and make even more of a difference…

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