This high-school-level unit addresses the art of contemporary Black photographers, designed to be taught in 90-minute class periods consisting of both looking at contemporary art and making art. This is a photography unit, encouraging students to use their cameras and/or phones as tools and not adding any filters or editing to their raw photos. This curriculum unit covers four weeks, roughly eight 90-minute class periods, and will address homophobia/transphobia, celebration of queer lives, police and/or domestic violence, fighting for justice and local issues, and triumph over opression, but is also open to the experiences of the students and flexible in terms of what photographs are used. Photographers studied include: Zanele Muholi, Nicole Fleetwood, Hank Willis Thomas, Fabrice Monteiro, and Charles “Teenie” Harris. Standards addressed include synthesizing and relating knowledge and personal experiences to make art (#VA:Cn10.1,) and  relating artistic ideas and works with societal, cultural, and historical context to deepen understanding (#VA:Cn11.1.)

(Developed for Introduction to Visual Arts, grades 9-12; recommended for Art, African American History, Social Justice, and Social Activism, grades 6-12)