Perilous times call for the participation of all

This is a precarious time for our country.

The past week in Minneapolis has been a powder keg following the shooting death of  mother and poet, Renee Nicole Good, by an ICE agent last week during an immigration enforcement operation.

Before and since we’ve seen other examples of ICE using questionable tactics. We’ve actually seen them because there are videos of these dramatic moments, many of them taken by citizens using their cellphones.

In a televised address this week, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said, “You have an absolute right to peacefully film ICE agents as they conduct their activities. So carry your phone with you at all times. And if you see ICE in your neighborhood, take out that phone and hit record. Help us create a database of the atrocities against Minnesotans — not just to establish a record for posterity, but to bank evidence for future prosecution.”

Minnesota isn’t the only place where ICE is conducting searches.

My colleague, Kelly McBride, Poynter’s Senior Vice President and Chair of Craig Newmark Center for Ethics and Leadership, has a must-read new piece out: “This moment will be defined by what we choose to record.”