Racism is alive and kicking: Queen LatifahLos Angeles, July 13(AZINS) Actress-singer Dana Elaine Owens, known professionally by her stage name Queen Latifah, says racism is "alive and kicking" in the world.

The 46-year-old star has urged black women to "demand respect" and "change the attitude" of others in order to help change the world's outlook on race, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

Speaking at VH1 Hip Hop Honors: All Hail the Queens, she said: "Listen, we all know that the world -- and our world -- is really tense right now. It's a lot of tension, it's a lot of angst, it's a lot of hurt, a lot of pain.

"I'm hoping that we can somehow manage to channel all of these emotions that we have in a positive way by not taking no (for an answer) and really do something to change our world... Racism is still alive and kicking and we have to change that... We have got to change this attitude and we must demand respect as women."

The "He's everything" singer's comments come in the wake of shootings in Louisiana, Minnesota and Dallas last week which saw fatal gun violence between African-American men and the police.

In the space of two days, two black men in Louisiana and Minnesota were killed by police. The shootings were caught on video and seen by millions. Then, a day later, a black war veteran killed five officers in a retaliatory sniper attack in Dallas.