Authoritarianism advances quietly. Democracy requires participation.

Democracy is not only protected at the ballot box—it is sustained by an informed public, engaged neighbors, and collective responsibility. When enforcement actions are hidden, communities are denied the information they need to respond, organize, and protect one another.

Mark The Spot disrupts silence by:

• Making state violence visible in everyday public spaces

• Preserving community memory where harm occurred

• Alerting neighbors to activity in their own neighborhoods

• Reclaiming public space as a site of democratic accountability

Visibility awakens awareness. Awareness activates action.

When neighbors know, neighbors can protect one another.

Mark The Spot is designed to do more than document harm—it is meant to catalyze community response. Signs prompt conversations, questions, and organizing. They encourage neighbors to look out for one another, share information, and intervene collectively rather than remain isolated or uninformed.

This work helps:

• Break the normalization of disappearances and detentions

• Encourage civic vigilance and mutual care

• Build local networks of protection and response

• Reinforce the idea that communities, not fear, set the terms of public life

Democracy weakens when people feel alone. It strengthens when communities act together.

A people-powered record of truth.

Mark The Spot is a grassroots, community-led initiative that:

• Distributes physical signs documenting ICE activity

• Trains volunteers and local organizers to lead placements

• Builds a growing, decentralized public record of enforcement sites

• Supports communities facing increased enforcement and surveillance

Each action is guided by care, consent, and local leadership—centering those most impacted.

Mark The Spot is grounded in the belief that democracy depends on an informed public and neighbors who protect one another. We believe memory is a form of resistance, visibility is a civic duty, and silence is not neutrality.

This is about more than signs.
It is about awakening civic responsibility.
It is about choosing collective care over fear.
It is about defending democracy—together.