Eyewitness to Power: Citizen Journalism, Viral Video & Accountability

Armed with a phone: This panel explores how everyday people—armed only with cell phones—have become primary witnesses to state violence and how their footage reshapes public narrative and justice processes. #WhileBlack shows both the moral power and unpredictable personal cost of such witnessing. While the recent video of the Minneapolis ICE shooting underscores how recordings can surface in real time to both inform and inflame national debate, #WhileBlack, is also set in Minneapolis and it explores the impact of witnessing on the brave citizen journalists who are increasingly becoming harbingers of the truth.  Who gets to record, who gets to be believed, who gets protection, and how do social platforms’ monetize the impact of visceral, real-world events? #WhileBlack powerfully examines some of the most viral murders and beatings by police over generations through the lens of technology. Trauma in the digital age: Repeated viewing of viral moments of racial violence takes a deeply human toll, not only on the witnesses themselves but on the communities who see themselves reflected in those moments again and again. This panel investigates how does the constant replay of these moments affect mental health, civic engagement, and collective resilience?  The Ethics of Watching: What does responsible viewing look like, and how do we educate audiences to engage ethically with real-world suffering?