ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the political potentials (and limitations) of networked, live mobile witnessing to engage the legacy and contemporary reality of US racial violence. Centered on Diamond Reynolds’ 2016 Facebook Live video of Philando Castile’s shooting death by police, the essay problematizes (1) colorblind theorizing of mobile witnessing and selfie participatory journalism; (2) the visibility of police violence and white supremacy on social media platforms and its concealment via neoliberal discourse on responsible streaming; (3) selfie witnessing as a gestural and connective performance placing ethical demands on mediated witnesses while exposing sovereign violence.
