In the heart of downtown Los Angeles, a powerful protest art installation is boldly challenging the status quo. The question 'Am I Next?' resonates loudly, leaving passersby questioning their safety and the future of their city.
Every night, drivers on the bustling 101 freeway are confronted with a thought-provoking display. Large-scale portraits of everyday Angelenos flash across the side of a building, accompanied by a simple yet haunting message: 'Am I Next?' This thought-provoking art project is a collaborative effort between three influential Los Angeles institutions, aiming to shed light on the thousands of community members who have been detained this year due to federal immigration raids.
The 'Am I Next?' campaign features striking black-and-white images of residents, projected onto the facades of prominent buildings. These images, a stark reminder of the undermining of democratic norms and attacks on civil liberties, began appearing on November 6th. Alongside these portraits, the campaign shares brief stories of individuals, including US citizens, who have been accosted and taken by federal agents from their homes, cars, workplaces, and streets. The names Mauricio, Rosalina, and Juan are just a few examples, representing the fear and trauma experienced by millions since Donald Trump's administration adopted a violent and militarized approach to immigration enforcement.
But here's where it gets controversial: the campaign asks a crucial question - if fellow residents can be arrested without regard for their constitutional rights, who is truly safe? Miguel Santana, president and CEO of the California Community Foundation (CalFund), shares his own experience, stating, "I carry my passport around, which I never imagined as a native Angeleno." He goes on to describe people afraid to leave their homes or even go shopping, highlighting the impact of these raids on daily life in a city where nearly half of the residents are Latino.
The statistics are alarming. More than 65,000 immigrants across the US are currently confined in federal detention, a two-thirds increase since January. Shockingly, recent data reveals that 74% of those in custody have no criminal convictions.
Among the faces featured in the 'Am I Next?' campaign are well-known figures like veteran actors and activists Edward James Olmos and George Takei, who experienced incarceration as a young boy during World War II. There's also Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. However, the majority of participants are everyday residents, photographed by Pulitzer-winning photographer Barbara Davidson throughout various city neighborhoods. Davidson shares that some were too nervous to participate due to their or their family members' ongoing citizenship processes, while others were eager to stand against the ICE raids.
A dedicated website allows individuals to submit their own photos, showing solidarity with the campaign. Miguel Santana emphasizes the contrast between the courage of the campaign's participants and the cowardice of the masked federal agents, stating, "Courage is the best antidote to authoritarianism."
For the Japanese American community, the use of force, dehumanizing tactics, lack of due process, and racist targeting of immigrants feel all too familiar. The Japanese American National Museum (JANM), located in historic Little Tokyo, serves as a nightly canvas for protest art. It's a powerful reminder of the past, as it was from this very location that over 37,000 Japanese Americans boarded buses to American concentration camps in 1942. JANM's evening projections incorporate images of former incarcerated individuals alongside Angelenos standing against ICE raids, sending a strong message.
Nearby, at the LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes, over 30 large-scale digital images and neon artworks by LA-based artists like Brandy González, Lalo Alcaráz, and Patrick Martinez are on display. These bold and colorful works, entitled 'We Belong Here,' reflect the immigrant experience and call for justice with powerful messages like "Invest in the oppressed" and "It is the weak who are cruel."
The impact of the 'Am I Next?' campaign is spreading, with plans for more institutions in Los Angeles and Long Beach to host the installation on their walls. Miguel Santana has received interest from colleagues in San Francisco and New York, who aim to replicate the project to raise awareness. Santana emphasizes the need to expose and challenge the violent nature of immigration enforcement, stating, "We will keep it going until we can all sleep at night knowing that our core American constitutional rights are not going to be violated."
This campaign serves as a powerful reminder that in a democratic society, the protection of rights for one community member is the protection of rights for all. It invites us to reflect on the xenophobia, fear, prejudice, and racism that immigrant populations face, and to consider whether these fundamental rights apply to all Americans or just some.
