What you’re looking at right now is a bit deceiving. If you flip through it too quickly you might just mistake it for a photobook. To be honest, that’s what we thought it was at first. After nearly six months of studio sessions, photography classes, community-based photoshoots, and curriculum development meetings, we cobbled together a handful of the images that best communicated the collective brilliance of our Queens, Kings, and community members. More than a creative exercise, this book forced us to reflect on what it has meant to show up with young people in the midst of a pandemic and attempt to capture a new narrative together. But after weeks of editing, we realized it was missing something essential: the actual voices of our Queens & Kings.

For months now our Queens & Kings have chosen to gather together in The Dojo Studios. They’ve done it in spite of the fact that the world around them has been spinning violently out of control. Their words reveal that despite the cameras in their hands, the program was never really about photography. To them, it was always about mastering the secret art of remembrance.

So no. This isn’t just another photobook. It’s an ode to memory—a humble attempt to honor the fact that our Queens & Kings have consistently chosen to fight for hope in a world designed to obscure the power that resides within them.

May their memories remind you of all that is worth holding onto.