Macklemore Comments On Alton Sterling & Police Brutality
In a recent Instagram post, rapper Macklemore comments on Alton Sterling’s murder and the police brutality that made the father of two a victim earlier this week.
He insists that unless white people acknowledge the problem and take action to “hold the system accountable” and do that soon, nothing will change:
“How many more murders of black people by police before we hold our system and those that enforce it accountable? The footage of Alton Sterling being murdered by a police officer is equal parts horrific, infuriating and devastating. How many times can we watch a family at a press conference in hysterics over the killing of their loved one? Murdered by those that have been assigned to protect us.
“The systematic oppression that enables a murder like this, will be corrected once white people care enough to change it. Alton Sterling didn’t create this problem. This is hundreds of years of conditioning.
“…I can’t help but think….If I was put in the exact same situation that Alton was in, I would be alive today…Because of the color of my skin. And he’s dead because of his. I often don’t know what to do during these moments. It becomes easier to vent on social media than to take direct action.”
“Have conversations about race. In real life. With people that look like you and people that don’t. RIP #altonsterling,” Macklemore urges his followers in the post.
As the Inquisitr previously reported, 37-year-old Alton Sterling was confronted by two police officers in front of a convenience store in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on July 5. He was reportedly selling CDs outside the store. Graphic video circulating on the internet shows the officers ordering Sterling to lie on the ground; while Sterling’s hands are up, one officer tackles him onto the hood of the car and Sterling falls to the ground.
Another officer yells, “He’s got a gun!” before Sterling is shot and killed, still lying down.
Castile informed the officer that he did have a gun, but that he also had a permit allowing him to carry it.
Several celebrities have spoken out on social media in reaction to the unnecessary killing of both men, many using the #BlackLivesMatter movement hashtag.
The movement has only risen in importance since the infamous murders of Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, Sandra Bland, and many others in recent years, all at the hands of police officers.
Philando Castile. Alton Sterling.
Never coming home.
Black lives matter. Not just as a hashtag, not just in all caps, in real life.— Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) July 7, 2016
the fact that people have 2 be afraid 2 walk to the corner store because of the color of their skin is unthinkable to me. #BlackLivesMatter
— camila (@Camila_Cabello) July 7, 2016
Another day, another hashtag. You didn't deserve this, brother. You didn't deserve this. #PhilandoCastile
— NE-YO (@NeYoCompound) July 7, 2016
Protests have been scheduled in several cities across the country tonight in unity against the unjust deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile.
According to ABC 7 in New York City, hundreds have already gathered tonight in Union Square in Manhattan and in Newark, New Jersey. The group in Union Square have named it the “Stop Police Terror” rally, surely a sobering and familiar moment for many in attendance, who may have been to similar rallies before. Police are stationed at the rally, but so far, reports say it has been a peaceful event.
Similar protests took place in NYC after Eric Garner, a Staten Island resident, died after being aggressively subdued by several police officers and put into a chokehold on July 17, 2014. That incident was also caught on camera by a witness.
NYPD Officer Daniel Pantaleo was not indicted by the grand jury for Garner’s death.
As he stated himself, Macklemore’s comments on Sterling and the epidemic of police brutality in this country just aren’t enough. Action is needed.
[Photo by Christopher Smith/Invision/AP Images]
