07/07/2016 AT 01:00 PM EDT  Expressing outrage and demanding change, celebrities including  are speaking out on social media after two African-American men,  , were killed in officer-related shootings in Louisiana and Minnesota earlier this week within a 48-hour span.  Their deaths – both captured on cell phone video – have many celebrities comparing the incidents to  , who also died while interacting with authorities.  Castile, 32, was killed in Falcon Heights, Minnesota, during a traffic stop Wednesday. He was shot in front of his girlfriend and her child as he reached for his driver's license, his girlfriend said during an incident that was streamed on  . Police are investigating the widely shared Facebook video.  Sterling, 37, was shot Tuesday by police outside of a convenience store in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where he was selling CDs in the parking lot. A video taken by witnesses shows police telling Sterling to get on the ground, before being tackled by a second officer. One of the officers yells, "He's got a gun! Gun!" before apparently firing his weapon at Sterling.  The officers have since been placed on administrative leave and the incident is under  Taking to social media Wednesday and Thursday, Legend shared a series of emotional tweets, writing, "We should not have to jump through hoops to prove black people shouldn't be shot by police during routine traffic stops."  Let's go NRA. I know y'all are for the 2nd amendment. Are you also for equal protection? https://t.co/PaKMcZ7ina  We should not have to jump through hoops to prove black people shouldn't be shot by police during routine traffic stops.  So many people work so hard to find a reason why executing a human being during a routine traffic stop is ok. IT'S NOT OK  about racial issues, social justice and cultural appropriation at the BET Awards – also weighed in, presenting a series of points on Castile and Sterling's deaths.  1) In the interest of time, would ye noble patriots please provide a list of infractions punishable by spontaneous public execution? Thanks!  2) Upon receipt of this list, we'll return to our quarters and study up, eager to enjoy freedoms of white mass murders. #LIFEHACK  3) You chumps will NEVER provide this list... We see through you.  's Leslie Odom Jr., urged people to face the reality of the situation.  "What's going on?" Hundreds of years. In America. This has been happening for HUNDREDS of years. Cell phones just make it harder to ignore.  Watching two different people being murdered on camera by police is no way to wake up. #PhilandoCastile #AntonSterling  Listen to how frightened the cop in the #FalconHeights video sounds. Why was he issued a gun? Why was he allowed to be a policeman?  HAS. TO. STOP. Devastating. https://t.co/C9Q0YePRMr  I can't wake up to another innocent black man gone. Police reform NOW. Please @potus. #blacklivesmatter #howmanymore #PhilandoCastille  A photo posted by champagnepapi (@champagnepapi) on Jul 6, 2016 at 5:50pm PDT  #PhilandoCastile had a permit to carry and was complying with police and still got shot! Where's outrage from gun rights advocates? #TeamDl  David Grunfeld / NOLA.com / The Times-Picayune  We need real criminal justice reform so that people can walk down the street without worrying about whether they'll get harassed or shot.  This is so disturbing and wrong. My thoughts and prayers are with the family and loved ones of #AltonSterling  You can't just go on with your day, you must watch this & we must face this continual outrageousness #ALTONSTERLING https://t.co/NqW3aVSZ1j  Make sure you hug your loved ones a little tighter this morning.  There are so many broken, backwards issues at play here it's numbing to digest. #PhilandoCastile #AltonSterling #blacklivesmatter  I can't sleep thinking about if my brother or dad or uncle will be okay tonight. #restless  "Something's gotta give... We getting killed everyday,"  (contains NSFW language). "Us as a people, we have to start getting our voice heard."
Celebrities are speaking out in the wake of the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile this week