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While addressing the Conference on Peace crowd in Minneapolis on Saturday (June 17), legendary music talent Stevie Wonder shared some apparently newfound thoughts on the Black Lives Matter movement.

Wonder began his sentiment by highlighting the shooting death of Philando Castile during the conference, which Fox 9 reports focused on the topic of youth gun violence. After the acquittal of Castiles killer, Minnesota police officer Jeronimo Yanez, who fatally shot him while his girlfriend and her 4-year-old daughter were in the car, backlash from Black Lives Matter supporters and several communities soon followed. Wonder, however, feels that the movement should be focusing on other things.

It is in your hands to stop all of the killing and the shooting wherever it might be, he said. Because you cannot say, Black lives matter, and then kill yourselves. Because you know weve mattered long before it was said, but the way we show that we matter, and the way that we show all the various people of color matter is by loving each other and doing something about it. Not just talking about it.

The comments come shortly after his previous I dont give a f**k response to those who disagreed with his support of BLM. Addressing attendees of London's British Summer Time Festival, the 67-year-old musician defended the movement by stating that Black people are the original people of the world and any hate toward the culture is in direct opposition to God as well.

Do you agree with his latest thoughts in the video below?

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Stevie Wonder: 'You Cannot Say 'Black Lives Matter' and Then Kill ... - BET

Black Lives Matter sign. (KIRO 7)

Though Seattle police cant comment yet on the range of issues left in the wake of the fatal shooting of Charleena Lyles, Pierce Countys sheriff may offer some context. Starting with this: Black lives matter.

Black lives do matter, said Pierce County Sheriff Paul Pastor. Black lives matter in a very important way.

RELATED: Teacher of the year offers advice for police encounters

Charleena Lyles was an African-American mother killed by two white police officers after she reportedly threatened them with a knife. Lyles was recently suffering from mental illness, which adds another layer to the tragedy.

Sheriff Pastor made it clear while talking with KIRO Radios Ron and Don that black lives matter and explained why Blue Lives Matter is not a response to the sentiment.

Blue lives matter to me, definitely, he said. I dont say that as a reply because it begs the issue. I think when people say Black Lives Matter what they are asking is Dont black lives matter? Individually? Dont black people in America matter?

They do, Pastor said. You know why, African-American people in America are a bellwether in how we are doing. We can chart how well America is doing by looking at the state of black America. Right now, we have to work harder on that. While black lives definitely matter, I dont think they matter enough in the white community or the black community.

Pastor said that people have a misconception that every incident with police could have a positive outcome. People assume that some tragedies could be avoided if there was a mental health official present.

It is a nice tool to have if it is available, he said. We under-invest in mental health and just say, Just let the cops handle it. Let the cops respond. We dont want to finance treatment, hospitalization. The cops will handle it. That stinks. Its wrong. Its not fair. Thats what enhances the likelihood of damage in these encounters.

We lay this on the porch of law enforcement, Pastor said. We dont invest in doing something about it, and we wonder why we have these encounters.

Lyles was taken into custody nearly two weeks before the June 18 shooting. She was recommended to mental health court. Officers were aware of her previous interactions with police and the mental health concern.

Many people asked on Ron and Dons Facebook page: Why didnt police shoot her in the leg? Or use a Taser? Or use other, non-lethal force?

Generally, we are trained to aim for areas that will stop the action, however, people who even consider doing that have not been successful, Pastor said. Why? In the real world, when you are faced with something, its not like at the shooting range, its not like on television. Theres surprise, theres chaos, theres fear. People in combat will tell you that its not the same cool, calm, collective approaches.

Pastor said he is in favor of using stun devices, like a Taser, but said that not all officers carry them. Pastor also notes that the devices are also controversial.

Ive heard a number of agencies around the country withdrawing from using Tasers, he said. Some of that has been pressure by interest groups who think its cruel and unusual, or who think that it causes terrible damage.

Pastor said he has been hit with a stun gun from behind when he wasnt expecting it.

It hurt, it takes you down, and you can get up and carry on with your afternoon, he said.

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Pierce County Sheriff discusses why black lives matter - MyNorthwest.com

Black activists held events in 40 cities on June 19, a day that celebrates the end of slavery.

Photo from Juneteenth #40acres40cities action in Atlanta, GA. (Credit: Twitter @ATLisReady)

This Q&A is part of Sarah Jaffes series Interviews for Resistance, in which she speaks with organizers, troublemakers and thinkers who are doing the hard work of fighting back against Americas corporate and political powers.

Juneteenth is not a federal holiday but many believe it should be. Its the day on June 19, 1865, that news of emancipation reached the last group of enslaved people in Galveston, Texas. That was two-and-a-half years after President Lincoln issued his Emancipation Proclamation, which made slavery illegal.

To mark the day, and its unfulfilled promises, a group of organizers planned a day of action on Monday, June 19. In 40 acres across 40 cities, black people took nonviolent direct action to occupy and reclaim spaces such as abandoned schools and vacant lots, with the goal of bringing these spaces back to the community.

The action makes reference to Union General William T. Shermans 1865 field order named 40 acres and a mule the unkept promise that newly freed slaves receive 40 acres of land, and a mule to work it, per family, to be taken from confiscated Confederate land.

On Monday, from Atlanta to Oakland, Chicago to New Orleans, anchored by the BlackOUT Collective and Movement Generation, black Americans reclaimed vacant lots and abandoned buildings, bringing communities together to discuss the issues of land, liberation and reparations. Chinyere Tutashinda, co-director of the BlackOUT Collective, talked to Sarah Jaffe about his organizations goals for this years Juneteenth.

Sarah Jaffe: For people who dont know about Juneteenth, can you tell us, first of all, the history of the day?

Chinyere Tutashinda: Juneteenth is a very interesting and sad story all wrapped in one. It celebrates and commemorates the day when a group of enslaved black folks in Texas found out that slavery was officially over and they could be a part of the Union army [and fight against the Confederate Army during the Civil War.] It wasnt to the benefit of slaveholders to actually communicate that black people had been emancipated. So, it took months and months of networks of enslaved folks to be able to get that message to them.

SJ: Tell us about the actions that are taking place and the significance of the plan that you guys went forward with.

If we are talking about freedom in this country, then we also need to be having a concrete discussion about whats owed to people who have a history of enslavement.

CT: Movement Generation approached us [to collaborate] and we decided to focus some of our work on black liberation and what that entails. This includes thinking about black liberation tied to land and to reparations. If we are talking about freedom in this country, then we also need to be having a concrete discussion about whats owed to people who have a history of enslavement.

SJ: Talk a little bit more about the actions and the places where these are taking place.

CT: Actions are going to take place across the country in a variety of different ways. Some people are looking at long-term occupations and creating community spaces. Some are day-long actions where people are holding conversations about the intersection of reparations, land and black liberation. Theyll all be different, but the goal is to be able to take up space, build communities and have good relationships with each other and with the community at large.

SJ: There were a few spaces held like this last summer in Chicago and in Los Angeles.

CT: Yes, there were. We helped with the freedom actions last summer that were in response to the murder of Alton Sterling, a 37-year-old black man who was killed by Baton Rouge police in July 2016.

One of the actions was in Chicagos Freedom Square by the Black Youth Project and other organizations around the idea: What does it mean to hold space? They held the event at the place where a group of black people had been tortured and imprisoned decades ago by Chicago police. Last year, they won their case and were awarded reparations.

SJ: In a time when Donald Trump is president it can seem like everything is short-term resistance. Talk about doing radical actions and making radical demands in this moment.

CT: There has been a huge upheaval in this country around the results of the election and people going, What to do? and What does it mean? There are hundreds of thousands of newly activated people. It is really critical that we continue to remember that the struggle is long and that it is one that requires us to not only react to things happening at the federal, state or local government level, but also requires us to really think about how we are in relationships with each other and with the land around us, with a clear understanding of our countrys history of oppression. This is one of the reasons why the Juneteenth actions in particular are not just about the current moment, but are rooted in history and rooted in land.

Over the course of two-and-a-half years we have trained almost a thousand black people in direct action tactics.

SJ: Tell us a little bit more about the work of the BlackOUT Collective.

CT: We started in 2014, literally in front of the Ferguson Police Department. We were a group of trainers some from the Ruckus Society, which is a nonviolent direct action training group, and some from the Center for Story-based Strategy. We were sitting there and as we were trying to come together as a group of black trainers, realizing that wed reached out to a lot of people we knew who had done direct actions, but there werent that many who identified themselves as direct action trainers as black people. We wanted that to change drastically. And understanding that, as black people, we have been using direct action tactics for hundreds of years fighting for our own liberation.

So, we started there and have continued to grow. Over the course of two-and-a-half years we have trained almost a thousand black people in direct action tactics. We are slowly growing and building our network through our action practitioners and are going to have our first all-black practitioner camp and visioning session this summer. We have also worked really closely with leadership at the Movement for Black Lives.

SJ: What do you think has changed in terms of the Movement for Black Lives in a world where Trump is president?

CT: There are a lot of people who are out on the streets I think there is a lot of interest and a lot of people who have been newly politicized and woken up to the fact that Trump is our president. But, when I think around what has been going on within the Movement for Black Lives and organizations that are part of that constellation because this is not new for us and because a lot of folks, particularly those in the South, have been living under conditions very similar to the ones that Trump is trying to enact nationally there was just a different level of What does that mean for us?

People have been really focusing on strengthening their organizing, strengthening their base building and trying to build and implement strategy in different ways. People are noticing there are less people on the streets, but there are not necessarily less people in our organizations or less people doing local work. I think as organizations are building and slowly growing, the work that you will see come into fruition will be in the next year or so.

SJ: How can people keep up with you and the BlackOUT Collective and find out more information on the Juneteenth actions?

CT: There are a couple of ways. We have our website, BlackOUTCollective.org. We are also on Twitter @blackoutcollect and on Facebook its the BlackOUT Collective. People can also check out the Black Land and Liberation Initiative.

Interviews for Resistance is a project of Sarah Jaffe, with assistance from Laura Feuillebois and support from the Nation Institute. It is also available as a podcast on iTunes. Not to be reprinted without permission.

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Rethinking Juneteenth in the Age of Black Lives Matter - BillMoyers.com

A Black Lives Matter protest in Charlotte, N.C., following the shooting of Keith Lamont Scott (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

Last October, teachers in the Seattle Public Schools district planned a Black Lives Matter in the Seattle Public Schools event that consisted of wearing T-shirts with the slogan printed on them, despite the fact that a similar effort at Seattles John Muir Elementary in September was met with criticism, hate mail and threats of violence.

The teachers expected backlash, and they got it, in the form of white parents from the citys wealthier neighborhoods writing to their school principals and saying that they were displeased that such an event would take place, saying that a Black Lives Matter day was too militant, too political and too confusing for their young children, according to KUOW.

Because the parents would not speak directly with the news station about their displeasure, KUOW made a public records request and published their emails with all identifying information redacted.

The letters range in tone from Not all white people to What about Martin Luther Kings dream, but in the examples cited, KUOW notes that the parents complaining are from one of the whitest, most affluent and staunchly liberal neighborhoods dotted with rainbow yard signs that say All Are Welcome.

From KUOW:

Wrote a parent at Laurelhurst Elementary: Can you please address why skin color is so important? I remember a guy that had a dream. Do you remember that too? I doubt it. Please show me the content of your character if you do.

From Eckstein Middle School in Wedgwood: What about red and black or yellow and white and black? How does supporting Black Lives Matter help that gap?

And from Bryant Elementary in Ravenna: Im writing to share what my 9-year-old daughter told me about what she learned in class regarding the Black Lives Matter discussion. She said she felt bad about being white. And that police lie and do bad things.

Stephan Blanford, a Seattle school board member who is black, and whose doctoral research focused on race and public education, told KUOW: This is what Ive come to call Seattles passive progressiveness. We vote the right way on issues. We believe the right way. But the second you challenge their privilege, you see the response.

This is a common refrain whenever the topic of Black Lives Matter comes up. Its as if no matter how many times we explain that Black Lives Matter doesnt mean other lives dont, people still overlook that and want to argue about why black lives shouldnt matter more than any others. It is the not all whites reaction that leads into All Lives Matter and ends with black people being called racist simply for pointing out that black lives should, in fact, matter.

The white parents in Seattle are a microcosm of supposedly liberal white people all over America who want to be good allies but cant seem to move past semantics in that allyship. They get hung up on words, and not the greater actions that the words are speaking against.

Before you go over to KUOW to read the rest of the emails, pay attention to what happens in the comments of this post. Even as I type this right here and forewarn you, people will immediately jump and call me racist just for posting this.

Read more at KUOW.

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White Liberal Tears and Racism From Parents in Response to ... - The Root

Over the weekend, several Black Lives Matter protesters attempted to block a Pride parade in Columbus, Ohio. When police responded, they reportedly resisted arrest, and one suspect tried to disarm an officer, leaving several officers injured, the Columbus Division of Police said.

Four demonstrators now face charges ranging from disorderly conduct to aggravated robbery over Saturdays confrontation.

Showing up for Justice Columbus, a group that organizes white people to take action to fight white supremacy, wrote on Twitter that the demonstrators were disrupting Pride to protest Fridays acquittal of the Minnesota police officer who shot and killed Philando Castile last year.

Today myself and a group of other queer and trans PoC [People of Color] (and allies) staged a silent, peaceful protest in the middle of the pride parade to highlight the lack of support for queer POC trans folk within our community and the larger lgbtqia community, Stephanie Ewen, one of the Black Lives Matter protesters, said in a statement on Facebook.

Within a minute of us stepping into the street myself, Michaelaa Masonn, and others were pepper sprayed, she said.

Video from the incident posted on Facebook shows close to a dozen protesters linking arms in the middle of the street. Some wore shirts saying pride is political. Police officers who arrived within minutes appear to be cheered by parade watchers.

In YouTube video, police use their bikes to disperse the protesters. At least one officer uses mace on the protesters, though this occurs off camera. At one point, a woman is heard yelling at a Pride Parade participant, Your words are violent.

In a Facebook post Saturday night Columbus police saidthey arrested protesters who wouldnt obey officers orders to leave the roadway at the parade.

Four officers were injured, including one officer who suffered a torn ACL and another who is expected to remain off duty for several months, according to ABC-6

The four arrested could face charges ranging from disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, to aggravated robbery, and causing harm to a police officer, the Columbus Division of Police said in a Facebook post.

Several Columbus-area civil rights groups demanded the release of the four suspects, dubbed by social media the BlackPride4.

By deadline, neither the Pride March organizers nor the Columbus Police Communications Bureau had responded toHeat Streets request for comment.

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Four Police Injured as Black Lives Matter Protesters Disrupt Columbus Pride Parade - Heat Street