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.”

Read more
Hints: View this page full screen. Skip to the next and previous photo by typing j/k or ←/→.

Most Recent

  • Shamil Zhumatov / Reuters
    • In Focus
    • Sep 21, 2018
    • 35 Photos

    Photos of the Week: Grassy Biker, Welsh Surfer, Chilean Pups

    A White Walker roams Northern Ireland, flooding threatens parts of the U.S. and Mali, a Japanese satellite visits an asteroid, American bison are raised in Mexico, and much more

  • Mahmud Hams / AFP / Getty
    • In Focus
    • Sep 20, 2018
    • 40 Photos

    Photos: 25 Fridays of Protest in Gaza

    For nearly six months now, Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip have been staging weekly demonstrations along the border between Gaza and Israel—protests they call the “Great March of Return.”

  • Lucas Jackson / Reuters
    • In Focus
    • Sep 19, 2018
    • 21 Photos

    Studying Greenland’s Ice to Understand Climate Change

    Lucas Jackson, a photographer with Reuters, recently joined a team of scientists studying Greenland’s ice sheet and glaciers.

  • Jonathan Drake / Reuters
    • In Focus
    • Sep 18, 2018
    • 24 Photos

    Photos: Pet Rescues in the Wake of Hurricane Florence

    Dogs, cats, and other animals that were left behind, or caught in the storm, are being rescued and cared for by owners, neighbors, and first responders.

Most Popular on The Atlantic

  1. My Rapist Apologized
  2. The Crisis of the American Elites
  3. A Warning From Europe: The Worst Is Yet to Come
  4. How Puberty Kills Girls’ Confidence
  5. America Is Living James Madison’s Nightmare
  6. The Bad American Habits I Kicked in Finland
  7. The Tiny Blond Bible Teacher Taking on the Evangelical Political Machine
  8. Is Google Making Us Stupid?
  9. The Bullet in My Arm
  10. Attention: A Muscle to Strengthen
Back to Top