‘Am I Next?’ protest art in downtown LA boldly asks who’s safe from ICE | Los Angeles
toEvery evening, on the busy 101 freeway in downtown Los Angeles, drivers pass billboard-sized portraits of Angelenos glowing on the side of a building, with a simple message next to their faces: Am I Next?
Three Los Angeles agencies have teamed up to respond to federal immigration raids in the nation’s second-largest city. images A group of ordinary Los Angeles residents rallying in support of the thousands of community members detained this year.
Part of the protest art project Am I Next?The striking black-and-white images began appearing nightly on the facades of downtown buildings on November 6. California Community FoundationLA Plaza Cultura y Artes and the Japanese American National Museum object to the undermining of democratic norms and attacks on civil liberties.
In addition to projecting portraits of Angelenos, Am I Next? It highlights brief stories of people, including US citizens, who were abducted from their homes, cars, businesses, and streets by federal agents and seized under the word “Taken”:
Mauricio is waiting for the bus.
Rosalina is at home with her children.
Juan is on his lunch break from his construction job.
The campaign addresses the fear and trauma experienced by millions since Donald Trump and his administration began their violent and militaristic approach to immigration enforcement. June – an event that changed daily life in a city where nearly half of the residents are Latino.
It also begs the question: If citizens are detained without regard for their constitutional rights, then who is really safe?
“I carry with me my passport, which I never imagined being a native Angeleno,” said Miguel Santana, president and chief executive of the California Community Foundation, or CalFund. “I know people who are afraid to leave their homes, who won’t go shopping at Home Depot, because it doesn’t matter if you’re a U.S. citizen or not. We’re holding up a mirror to what’s going on.”
more than that 65,000 Across the United States, immigrants are held in federal detention; There is an increase of two thirds since January and the latest data shows 74% of those in custody have no criminal convictions.
A few of the faces in Am I Next? acquaintances: veteran actors and activists Edward James Olmos and George Takei, who was imprisoned as a five-year-old boy during World War II, and Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass. Dozens of others are L.A. residents who are Pulitzer Prize-winning photographers. Barbara Davidson It met in urban neighborhoods like East L.A., Venice, and Echo Park.
“Some were too nervous to attend because they or a family member were in the process of becoming a citizen and did not want to risk jeopardizing their application,” Davidson said. “Others were willing to take a stand against ICE raids.”
a special website It allows people to submit photos of themselves as a show of solidarity.
“The photos contrast the cowardice of the masked men who hide their faces because they know what they’re doing is wrong,” said Santana, whose portrait is at CalFund’s building, which is visible from City Hall and within walking distance of ICE’s detention center in downtown Los Angeles. “Courage is the best antidote to authoritarianism.”
For Japanese American societyThe use of force, dehumanizing tactics, lack of due process, and racist targeting of immigrants are all too familiar.
The Japanese American National Museum, or JANM, in historic Little Tokyo is not only a canvas for protest art at night, but it was also where more than 37,000 Japanese Americans boarded buses from Los Angeles in 1942 to go to American internment camps. It is also the site of an exodus of approximately 75 armed federal agents. spoil The scene, which emerged during a press conference with Gavin Newsom in August, sparked widespread outrage. anger.
“The core of this campaign is to remind people that when we protect the rights of anyone in our community, we are actually protecting the rights of everyone, including ourselves,” said James Herr, director of the JAM Center for Democracy. “The same xenophobia, fear, prejudice, and racism that Japanese Americans faced during World War II is what our current immigrant population faces.”
JANM’s evening projections also include footage of formerly incarcerated people as Angelenos stand against ICE raids.
At the nearby LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes, more than 30 large-scale digital images and neons by 10 Los Angeles artists, including Brandy González, Lalo Alcaráz, and Patrick Martinez, are on display in addition to images from Am I Next? Bold and colorful works We Belong HereIt reflects the immigrant experience and calls for justice with messages such as “Invest in the oppressed” and “The weak are the oppressors.”
More institutions in Los Angeles and Long Beach plan to host Am I Next? Santana said he has heard from colleagues in San Francisco and New York who want to project similar images to raise awareness.
“A violent way [immigration enforcement] Stating that the project will be carried out indefinitely, Santana said, “What is happening really needs to be exposed and not normalized,” and continued: “We will continue this until we all sleep at night, knowing that our basic American constitutional rights will not be violated. We live in a time when every American must decide whether these rights apply to all of us or to some of us.”
