By Allissa V. Richardson
It has been five years since May 25, 2020, when George Floyd gasped for air beneath the knee of a Minneapolis police officer at the corner of 38th Street and Chicago Avenue. Five years since 17-year-old Darnella Frazier stood outside Cup Foods, raised her phone and bore witness to nine minutes and 29 seconds that would galvanize a global movement against racial injustice.
Frazier’s video didn’t just show what happened. It insisted the world stop and see.
Today, that legacy continues in the hands of a different community, facing different threats but wielding the same tools. Across the United States, Latino organizers are raising their phones, not to go viral but to go on record. They livestream Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids, film family separations and document protests outside detention centers. Their footage is not merely content. It is evidence, warning – and resistance.
Here in Los Angeles where I teach journalism, for example, several images have seared themselves into public memory. One viral video shows a shackled father stepping into a white, unmarked van as his daughter sobs behind the camera, pleading with him not to sign any official documents. He turns, gestures for her to calm down, and blows her a kiss. In another video, filmed across town, Los Angeles Police Department officers on horseback charge into crowds of peaceful protesters, swinging wooden batons with chilling precision.
In Spokane, Washington, residents form a spontaneous human chain around their neighbors mid-raid, their bodies and cameras erecting a barricade of defiance. In San Diego, a video shows white allies yelling “Shame!” as they chase a car full of National Guard troops from their neighborhood.
The impact of smartphone witnessing has been immediate and unmistakable – visceral at street level, seismic in statehouses. On the ground, the videos helped inspire a “No Kings” movement, which organized protests in all 50 states on June 14, 2025.
Lawmakers are intensifying their focus on immigration policy as well. As the Trump administration escalates enforcement, Democratic-led states are expanding laws that limit cooperation with federal agents. On June 12, the House Oversight Committee questioned Democratic governors about these measures, with Republican lawmakers citing public safety concerns. The hearing underscored deep divisions between federal and state approaches to immigration enforcement.
The legacy of Black witnessing
What’s unfolding now is not new – it is newly visible. As my research shows, Latino organizers are drawing from a playbook that was sharpened in 2020 and rooted in a much older lineage of Black media survival strategies that were forged under extreme oppression.
In my 2020 book “Bearing Witness While Black: African Americans, Smartphones and the New Protest Journalism,” I document how Black Americans have used media – slave narratives, pamphlets, newspapers, radio and now smartphones – to fight for justice. From Frederick Douglass to Ida B. Wells to Darnella Frazier, Black witnesses have long used journalism as a tool for survival and transformation.
Latino mobile journalists are building on that blueprint in 2025, filming state power in moments of overreach, archiving injustice in real time, and expanding the impact of this radical tradition.
Their work also echoes the spatial tactics of Black resistance. Just as enslaved Black people once mapped escape routes during slavery and Jim Crow, Latino communities today are engaging in digital cartography to chart ICE-free zones, mutual aid hubs and sanctuary spaces. The People Over Papers map channels the logic of the Black maroons – communities of self-liberated Africans who escaped plantations to track patrols, share intelligence and build networks of survival. Now, the hideouts are digital. The maps are crowdsourced. The danger remains.
Likewise, the Stop ICE Raids Alerts Network revives a civil rights-era tactic. In the 1960s, organizers used wide area telephone service lines and radio to circulate safety updates. Black DJs cloaked dispatches in traffic and weather reports – “congestion on the south side” signaled police blockades; “storm warnings” meant violence ahead. Today, the medium is WhatsApp. The signal is encrypted. But the message – protect each other – has not changed.
Layered across both systems is the DNA of the “Negro Motorist Green Book,” the guide that once helped Black travelers navigate Jim Crow America by identifying safe towns, gas stations and lodging. People Over Papers and Stop ICE Raids are digital descendants of that legacy. Where the Green Book used printed pages, today’s tools use digital pins. But the mission remains: survival through shared knowledge, protection through mapped resistance.
Screenshot by The Conversation U.S.
Dangerous necessity
Five years after George Floyd’s death, the power of visual evidence remains undeniable. Black witnessing laid the groundwork. In 2025, that tradition continues through the lens of Latino mobile journalists, who draw clear parallels between their own community’s experiences and those of Black Americans. Their footage exposes powerful echoes: ICE raids and overpolicing, border cages and city jails, a door kicked in at dawn and a knee on a neck.
Like Black Americans before them, Latino communities are using smartphones to protect, to document and to respond. In cities such as Chicago, Los Angeles and El Paso, whispers of “ICE is in the neighborhood” now flash across Telegram, WhatsApp and Instagram. For undocumented families, pressing record can mean risking retaliation or arrest. But many keep filming – because what goes unrecorded can be erased.
What they capture are not isolated incidents. They are part of a broader, shared struggle against state violence. And as long as the cameras keep rolling, the stories keep surfacing – illuminated by the glow of smartphone screens that refuse to look away.
Allissa V. Richardson is Associate Professor of Journalism at USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.
Sherry says
So here’s my question. . . why is it that Maga members have become so incredibly hard hearted? Can I ask you all to watch these videos and try your very best to remember the teachings of Jesus. These are “human beings” for God’s sake!
Land of no turn signals says says
Do drug dealers video there drug transactions? A criminal is a criminal no matter the circumstance.No due process in so no due process on the way out.P.S. they can take there families with them.It’s funny Obama deported 3 million illegal aliens nobody said boo.
Sherry says
@land. . . then why isn’t “Convicted Felon and Guilty Sexaul Assaulter”donald trump in jail?????
Many, many stories were written about the deportations carried out by President Obama. I’ll make this as elementary as I can so you will understand. President Obama actually put “proven drug dealers and violent criminals” at the top of his deportation list.
Are you with me? President Obama also had those who came across the border “illegally with NO claim to asylum” deported “back to their HOME countries” within days/weeks of their arrival in the US.
OK land, now let’s compare this to trump’s ICE gestapo raids happening all over the country:
1. First of all, many ICE agents are wearing NO uniform, showing NO ID or warrant, and wearing masks over their faces.
2. They are “raiding” work places like Home Depot, Schools, Churches and even Courthouses, again with NO warrants
3. ICE is “kidnapping” human beings off the sidewalks, again with NO ID or Warrants
4. ICE is now arresting human beings who have been in this country for many years, and who are “in the process” for citizenship. People who have gotten married and created families here. People who work hard every day and have “ZERO” criminal record.
5. ICE is throwing human beings in PRISONS in other “shit hole”(trump’s words) countries with NO trial!
6. ICE is splitting up families and deporting human beings to countries where they have NEVER lived, where they are jailed without trail. Where they do not speak the language. Where they do not know the laws or their rights.
land, even you can see the massive difference here, right? Please, for the sake of your own credibility, rid yourself of your apparent Fox addiction and seek proven facts before forming your opinions. Thanks!
Roman says
I’m a legal immigrant since 1969, my parents came to USA in 1967 legally. If you come here illegally then you have no right to take resources from US citizens . There are thousands of people waiting legally to be in USA. So it’s alright to “jump the line” bypass and ignore US immigration laws. We should care more for US citizens first instead of protecting illegal immigrants.
Land of no turn signals says says
@Cherry…. Don’t you get tired of beating that same drum? I can surf on the wave of ALL your salty tears.
Sherry says
@ land. . . since I still live in “fact based” reality, I have plenty of credentialled Facts to post. The trouble is “you” have nothing to say except Fox BS taking points. Where has your thinking ability gone?
Joe D says
For: Land of no turn signal:
Obama might have deported 3 million immigrants during his terms in office, but those deported were given all the rights and legal protections and hearings allowed by law. Trump is rounding up those that are mostly brown and black skinned. No legal warrant, no due process hearing where you can defend yourself against illegal accusations with no notice, and no right to appeal the charges (if there have been any charges at all)!
These are the tactics of Hitler and the Nazi Party prior to World War II. The only thing you have to do now is switch the word “Jew” out for “illegal ALIEN”…the tactics are the same…only the names of the targets have changed.
I’m not saying all illegal immigrants are ANGELS, but you can’t just round up people like cattle and hurry them
into an ICE holding facility with no FORMAL CHARGES, limited to no WARRANTS , no legal hearings, and hurry them onto a departing plane!
The laws being used by the Trump Administration have been TOTALLY TWISTED out of context for what their original use intended…JUST to provide POLITICAL THEATER!
History will view this period of MAGA behavior like the now vilified Medieval Crusades!!! History CLEARLY has taught us NOTHING!
Ed P says
If a person can be someone’s child, brother, sister, mother, father, and a felon, then why can’t they be a Patriot too?
Give up the tired and worn out “felon”, “convicted”, or Fox criticism. It did not work before the election and it won’t work now. Those slogans have been repeated ad nauseam.
Trump is President. Did you miss that? That’s fact based.
MAGA doesn’t hold a negative connotation anymore. No one cares anymore.
Provide an alternative factual plan that is practical and acceptable to the majority.
Part of being truthful and honest is the willingness to accept reality.
Sherry says
Reality is a matter of perception. My perception is based on “factual” data. The “majority” of Americans do NOT approve of the criminal trump’s administration. . . as proven by the polls, even the Fox poll! An estimated 5 MILLION people took to the streets last week to protest against “many” of trump’s decisions. Winning an election by duping millions is not the end all be all of reality for those “in the majority”, who see horrific evidence of the trump criminal enterprise!
RESIST! RESIST! RESIST!
The democrats are absolutely in disarray, and their leadership is weak. They couldn’t plan their way out of a paper bag. BUT! BUT! BUT! Compared to trump’s hate filled fascist, imperialistic, “Billionaire’s Grift”, the democrats generally do try and keep “ALL” those living in the US in mind when serving in their government positions. It all boils down to “HATE” versus “LOVE”!
My reality is “LOVE”. . . how very terrible to realize that so many in our country live in a reality of DISHONESTY based on “FEAR and HATE”!
Ed P says
How is truth received?
In 3 stages. First it’s ridiculed. Second it’s vehemently opposed.
Third, it’s accepted as being self evident.
Once you notice you are fighting against reality, it becomes easier to accept.
Skibum says
Gulp some more Kook-Aid, Ed! Showing your penchant for all that is unethical, all that is unhinged, all that is unpatriotic, all that is 100% immoral and against what our nation’s constitution stands for is NOT a good look for you and all the others who continue to vomit the same diarrhea of the mouth in subservience of your orange “Jesus”.
I speak only for myself but I’m absolutely certain that many, many Americans agree that the term “maga”, except for it’s sheeple who fall all over themselves in worship of their dear leader will ALWAYS have a very negative connotation!
“Convicted felon” will ALWAYS have a very negative connotation!
And just so you know, maga republi-cons and fauxinfotainment talking heads associating the revered word PATRIOTS with the Jan. 6 cop beating insurrectionists who have been pardoned by the convicted felon-in-chief will ALWAYS have a negative connotation, and that act alone will go down in history as one of the most despicable and cowardly acts of any U.S. president in the long history of this great nation!
To even WANT to be associated with, or seen as a member or follower of the maga personality cult defies normal behavior and is a disgrace to the memories of the American heroes and REAL patriots who have died while giving their lives in service to our country and to uphold the U.S. Constitution, instead of the one man who sits in the WH now and says, as president, that he DOESN’T KNOW if he has an obligation to uphold the Constitution! If THAT is the kind of person you hold up as YOUR hero, I have to honestly tell you… YOU don’t deserve to be an American citizen, with the rights, obligations and responsivities thereof. Just saying…
Ed P says
Skibum,
Sticks and stones….
What about the fact that voters spoke that even a lib like you refuses to accept?
Now my opinions should take away my citizenship? Is that Fascist?
Sherry says
Thank you Skibum. . . I simply couldn’t agree more!
What I forgot to include in my comment is that “Character and Principles” generally are still upheld by the majority of Democrats. . . IMO, sadly, I don’t see that with Maga members.
Skibum says
Ed, here is the difference between patriotic, ethical Americans and your maga personality cultists… your comment “What about the fact that voters spoke” is so full of hypocrisy that it is unbelievable to me that you would even utter such nonsense after your orange “Jesus” sent his maga mob of insurrectionists to the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 precisely because the man-child could not fathom, could not respect the will of the voters who spoke in opposition to him being elected. The hallmark of this maga personality cult is that you and others of your ilk ONLY respect the will of the voters when your preferred candidate wins. When your preferred candidate is beaten in an election, the maga crowd who learned and accepted this unpatriotic behavior from the man-child himself, instead storms our nation’s seat of government, beats law enforcement officers with sticks, fire extinguishers and anything else they can get their hands on, roams through the federal building looking for the Vice President so they can hang him, defecates on the Speaker of the House’s desk, all the while the man-child leader of this personality cult sits in his dining room just outside of the oval office refusing to head his staff’s pleas, even his daughter Ivanka’s pleas, to call off his herd of insurrectionists because he wants to fantasize that because HE sent them, they are somehow endowed with “patriotic” fervor instead of just being the unpatriotic traitors of our Constitution that they were. You cannot be deemed “patriotic” when you only accept election outcomes that you like! You have the gall to respond back to me with that inane, extremely unpatriotic and unconstitutional drivel about “the voters spoke” after supporting an attempted overthrow of our national government by the man who DIDN’T WANT the voters to speak if they elected someone besides him??? Maga mush brains will NEVER find their true patriotism if they cannot understand and follow our constitutional guidelines from the founding fathers that in this country, we DO NOT have a king, we have elections and the people are supposed to ACCEPT election outcomes, whether they like or agree with the fact that their chosen candidate loses!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ed P says
Skibum,
First, you believe anyone who does not walk in lock step with your far left ideology should be quieted. You began by name calling, moved to shame, you even wrote a poem, and now you believe I no longer deserve to be a citizen. You, sir, are the definition of hypocrisy. What happened to free speech, inclusion and diversity?
Second, when your ilk is presented with anything , the quote is , “ I’m looking forward”
Take their advice. Look forward.
There isn’t any amount of rehashing Jan 6th, court cases, or complaining that changes the fact that Trump is our current President. Character flaws fall flat. Results/actions matter.
Finally, your comments are passionate but starting to run off the rails.
Now using one of your lines. “Speaking for myself”, the disdain you spew is not healthy.
Absolutely everything coming out of this administration appears to be “hated” by you.
We have 3.5 more years of Trump and if the Dems don’t get their act together, another 4 years of his replacement. Take a break and breathe.
Sherry says
With Maga cult members complete and absolute “HYPOCRISY” has no limits whatsoever!
Skibum says
And there we have it folks… Ed P, when presented with a perfect opportunity to shine as a patriotic American, cannot even bring himself to admit the reality of what happened on Jan. 6, 2021. Once again, he closes his eyes and turns his back on the many patriotic law enforcement personnel who were beaten, bashed, spit on at the U.S. Capitol on that horrific day. Some of those law enforcement officers nearly lost their lives that day and could not return to their chosen careers. A few committed suicide afterward.
Ed, aren’t you proud of the consequences your dear leader obtained?! People like Ed have no problem with the man-child who is in power at the moment trampling all over the U.S. Constitution while attempting to overthrow the government of our democratic republic as long as he gets his preferred LOSING presidential candidate ensconced in power in the end. No matter that is what dictators do… and then he questions me and wants to know why I think he doesn’t deserve to be seen as a patriotic American citizen?
Well, the truth is that further debate with someone so lacking in the understanding of ethical behavior and morality, not to mention how are country’s elections have run and been observed peacefully by Americans for the past 248 years (up to Jan. 6, 2021), is exhausting and not unlike the protagonist in the movie “Silence of The Lambs” trying to delve into the mind of Hannibal Lecter and convince him that it is not okay to eat people. Which makes me wonder, why exactly is it that our current WH occupier has such a fascination with, and keeps referring to Hannibal Lecter anyway?
Such role models for the maga faithful!
Ed P says
Skibum,
I have had a day to mull over your posts vilifying me, implying that anyone who supports our duly elected president is unpatriotic. Does that include half of the American voters as well? The captains of industry, any other world leaders, NATO, or any other of the thousands of converted? Are they all deluded?
Sometimes, to get a point across we must “reduce to the ridiculous”.
All the shaming, name calling, singing, protesting, or rioting does not change the fact that Trump is president. In fact, all those theatrics have little, if any chance of removing him from office. If he is able to improve the economy, maintain world peace, and expel most of the illegal criminals, then the Dems will be locked out of a leadership role for a few presidential cycles.
That’s the reality I was referencing.