Beyoncé held a minute's silence at her Glasgow concert on Thursday night in memory of the two African-American men shot dead by white police officers in the US this week.
The names of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile and those of others shot by police in the US were illuminated on a giant screen at the singer's concert at Hampden Park Stadium.
#Beyonce #Glasgow #BlackLivesMatter 🙏🏼✊🏼 pic.twitter.com/gnsXCOC4Ij
— Thomas Munro (@ThomasDMunro) July 8, 2016
Fans at the Glasgow concert described being moved to tears by the tribute, which was followed by an a cappella performance of the song Freedom. The tribute took place before the fatal shootings of five police officers in Dallas, Texas overnight. A number of officers were also wounded in the sniper attacks in the city which took place during rallies to protest against the shootings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile.
#Beyonce performs an acoustic version of #Freedom in Glasgow. pic.twitter.com/WjTcz4Wllk
— B. Scott (@lovebscott) July 7, 2016
Beyoncé, who is due to play Croke Park on Saturday, also penned an open letter entitled Freedom on her website. The letter began: "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 singer went on to say that her letter was "not a plea to all police officers but toward any human being who fails to value life".
She urged fans to contact politicians and legislators and demand "social and judicial changes".
"While we pray for the families of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, we will also pray for an end to this plague of injustice in our communities," she wrote.
Beyoncé's husband, rapper Jay Z, has released a new song called Spiritual about the recent police shootings of black men in the US.
The track, which debuted on Tidal, opens with the lyrics: "Punch told me I should drop it when Mike Brown died. Sadly I told him 'this issue will always be relevant'. I'm hurt that I knew his death wouldn't be the last."
JAY Z "spiritual" https://t.co/FxIqTUAEQg pic.twitter.com/syE18CioNM
— TIDAL (@TIDALHiFi) July 8, 2016
Philando Castile was shot dead after the car in which he was travelling was stopped by police near St Paul, Minnesota, late on Wednesday. His girlfriend posted live video on the internet of the bloody scene minutes afterward, which was widely viewed.
His death occurred within a day of the shooting of Alton Sterling, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Sterling was killed during an altercation with two white police officers. Graphic video of that incident caused an outcry on social media.
