Beyonce posted a powerful message on her website on Thursday, linking to it on Instagram and her other social media accounts.

Beyonce wrote:

    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.

    We're going to stand up as a community and fight against anyone who believes that murder or any violent action by those who are sworn to protect us should consistently go unpunished.

    These robberies of lives make us feel helpless and hopeless but we have to believe that we are fighting for the rights of the next generation, for the next young men and women who believe in good.

    This is a human fight. No matter your race, gender or sexual orientation. This is a fight for anyone who feels marginalized, who is struggling for freedom and human rights.

    This is not a plea to all police officers but toward any human being who fails to value life. The war on people of color and all minorities needs to be over.

    Fear is not an excuse. Hate will not win.

    We all have the power to channel our anger and frustration into action. We must use our voices to contact the politicians and legislators in our districts 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.

Beyonce's post came in response to back-to-back fatal shootings this week. Alton Sterling was tackled and shot dead when he was selling homemade CDs outside of a store in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on Tuesday, and Philandro Castile was fatally shot point-blank by an officer after being pulled over for a traffic stop. Castile's girlfriend and their child were present during the shooting.

On Thursday night, four police officers were shot dead and seven were wounded by snipers targeting law enforcement officers in Dallas, who were on the scene supervising protests prompted by the shootings. Dallas Police Chief David Brown stated at a news conference the latest slayings appeared to be a coordinated attack.