See In Black releases charity prints by 80 black photographers to mark Juneteenth

Celebrated annually on 19 June in the United States, it commemorates Union army general Gordon Granger announcing federal orders in Galveston, Texas, on the same day in 1865, proclaiming that all slaves in Texas were now free.

Priced at $100 per print (plus tax and shipping), one hundred per cent of profits from the sale of their work will go to five different causes: Know Your Rights Camp, Youth Empowerment Project, National Black Justice Coalition, Black Futures Lab, and The Bail Project.

"We are artists and archivists. We do not merely make images of black figures; we document history that is often unrecorded with intentionality, respect, nuance, and care. We serve as a platform for black people to stand proudly in their permanence," said See In Black founders, Joshua Kissi and Micaiah Carter.

With support from Artifact Uprising, each giclée print will offer vibrant, true-to-life colour on archival fine art paper. The print firm is also donating the first 1,500 prints to benefit the initiative.

As See In Black's website reads: "Historically, black people have been on the receiving end of the camera lens as the subject matter. The gaze by which we were viewed was not ours. Now, it's vital that we are narrators of how our stories are told and how we're seen.

"With the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, David McAtee, Tony McDade, and other black people at the hands of law enforcement, See In Black formed as a collective of black photographers to dismantle white supremacy and systematic oppression."

Purchasing one of these images helps support a broader mission to combat a system of oppression that disproportionately affects Black Americans. Prints go on sale today: seeinblack.com, Juneteenth, and will end on 3 July, the day before Independence Day.