Beyoncé in a May performance in California. (Daniela Vesco / Invision for Parkwood Entertainment / AP Images)

Beyoncé further embraced her hybrid role as political entertainer Thursday while putting out an urgent, public call on behalf of African-Americans in an open letter about the deaths at the hands of police of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile.

The celebrity singer, whose latest album, “Lemonade,” aimed to raise consciousness as it topped the charts with personal-is-political themes about racial violence and relationship struggles, voiced on her website her outrage at the two shootings in as many days of young black men by police officers.

“We are sick and tired of the killings of young men and women in our communities,” said Beyoncé in a statement written in stark white capital letters on a black background. “It is up to us to take a stand and demand that they ‘stop killing us.’ ”

Her message continues:

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.

… 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.

And her message was received: Twitter lit up as news of Beyoncé’s intervention made headlines, and reports spread online that her post spurred such a response that a server crashed at contactingthecongress.org:

Click here and here for Truthdig’s coverage of the Alton Sterling and Philando Castile deaths.

–Posted by Kasia Anderson

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