Black politician advises grandson about police: 'Deny your manhood if you want to come home alive’

The Congressional Black Caucus held a press conference to discuss the fatal police shootings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile

Churchgoers mourn the death of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana (Getty)

The same week that two black men, Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, were shot dead by the police, one black congressman said he has given advice to his grandson at college in case he is stopped by police.

“You've got to deny your manhood if you want to ensure that you come home alive,” said James Clyburn from North Charleston. "That is the kind of conversation I ought not to be having with my grandson."

He first met the mother of Walter Scott, the black man who was shot eight times by police in the back, when Mr Clyburn was in his twenties.

As another two men have died in the hands of white law enforcement, members of the Congressional Black Caucus looked somber and tearful during a press conference on Thursday.

"Racism continues to attack our country like a malignant tumour," said caucus member and congressman Hakeem Jeffries.

They pledged to fight against an epidemic of guns and police violence against unarmed black men and women. So far this year, police in the US have killed more than 500 people, they said.

Chairman of the caucus and democrat George Butterfield said: “No longer are we going to sit back and allow the Republican leadership to ignore this issue."

Congressman Cedric Richmond from Louisiana, the home state of Mr Sterling, who was shot dead on Tuesday morning, told the press that he is working with authorities to “get the facts out and draw conclusions”.

“I will tell you that what’s very uncomfortable is, who are you going to believe - me or your lying eyes? The video is very clear and disturbing,” he said.

Alton Sterling was defenceless on the ground when the white officer pulled out his gun

Mr Richmond added they are still awaiting more footage from the policemen’s dash cam and surveillance tape from inside the convenience store next to the carpark where the 37-year-old father was killed.

Congresswoman Maxine Waters from California said she could hardly sleep after hearing the news of both men.

She said how she has fought against police violence for decades in Los Angeles and watched how police methods like the choke hold - which killed Eric Garner - and the battering ram migrated from the West Coast across to the East.

People protesting after the death of Philando Castile (EPA)

One of the first cases she worked on in January 1979 was centred on Eulia Love, a 39-year old black widow who was shot dead on her porch in front of her two daughters because she could not afford her gas bill and prevented policemen from turning it off.

“This is not a new situation for me,” she said.

“Let me say to the police around this country: don’t kill another black man. […] You've got to stop this killing and we can’t be silent anymore.”

Philando Castile was shot in front of his girlfriend and his four-year-old daughter in Minnesota when he was stopped by police for a broken taillight. He was told to get his license. When he reached to get it, he was shot.

Mr Sterling was selling CDs outside a convenience store when police received a report that he had threatened someone with a gun. They pinned him on the ground, Mr Sterling’s gun still in his pocket. Holding him down, they shot him several times in the chest.