On Tuesday, video footage showed Alton Sterling being thrown to the ground and then shot in the chest multiple times. On Wednesday, video footage showed Philando Castile after being shot numerous times, slumped in the front passenger's seat of his girlfriend's car while his 4-year-old daughter watched from the back.

Both of the victims were black men. Both of the murderers were cops, who, it goes without saying, did not have to resort to such extreme violence. 

There was once a time when execution-style murders of this kind couldn't be filmed and couldn't generate the kind of visceral, unavoidable public outrage that they do today. But that has changed. The past few years have brought the U.S. public a nauseating array of video footage of black men being killed by police for no justifiable reason. 

Each murder feels like it will be the last, because how could such injustice continue? Instead, each murder is followed by more victims. 

This latest round of police violence has renewed the national outrage, making the demand for justice louder than ever.

Here are some of the latest reactions:

Beyoncé posted a long message on her website. "

"We are sick and tired of the killings of young men and women in our communities. It is up to us to take a stand and demand that they stop killing us. We don’t need sympathy. We need everyone to respect our lives," the message read. It then directed people contact their congressperson to voice their anger and frustration. Read the full message here.

TopicsRacismPolice BrutalityPhilando CastileAlton SterlingPolice violence

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Demand Equity

Reactions to deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile

By Joe McCarthy