In these three lessons, students will explore the Reimagine African American Art galleries at the Detroit Institute of Arts and create their own zines as a reflective artistic response to their thoughts and findings. 

Through classroom discussion, guided inquiry, and hands-on creation, students will examine how community care functions as cultural preservation, how art and abolition are intertwined, and how artists of color have historically taken risks to share their truths. They will also investigate how storytelling through art can both challenge and preserve history. 

By designing and crafting zines, students will express their reflections, amplify under¬represented narratives, and engage with art as a form of resistance and remembrance. At the conclusion of this lesson series, teachers can choose to incorporate a living zine library in their classrooms where students and teachers work together to build and preserve a collection of reflective zines.

This lesson is in support of the Reimagine African American Art galleries.