Between School and Home

After a fatal shooting involving teenagers in her Brooklyn neighborhood, the photographer Cassandra Giraldo remembers how the media described them: “‘Thugs,’ ‘hooligans,’ ‘gang members,’” she recalled. “It was insulting for me to read.” Giraldo also knows better; the New York City-based photographer has been documenting urban youth culture since 2011 on Instagram as part of “The After School Project.” From skateboard tricks on car-lined streets to boredom outside the 7/11, Giraldo’s images capture an intimate look at the fleeting romances, friendships, and attitudes of teens as they come of age in the country’s largest school district.  “These young people navigate a racially charged urban society,” Giraldo said. “This small window of time in the after school hours is theirs to take ownership of.”

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