In the period from roughly 1915 to 1935, many African Americans undertook an ambitious campaign to remake their image in mainstream (white) American society. This New Negro Movement (NNM)--a term that the author uses purposefully in contradistinction to "Harlem renaissance"--can be studied in the classroom, allowing history teachers to introduce their students to interdisciplinary primary sources while reasserting the central role that history can play by providing analyses of the flurry of cultural production that emerged from African American communities. Introducing photographs into the author's analysis of the NNM allowed her to present new material to students in the format which Gangwer indicates serves them best; the requirement that they write a paper placing the photographs in their historical context asked that they interact intelligently with what they saw rather than simply, passively, observing it. In this article, the author gives her students many opportunities to "see" in the classroom, and describes how the portraits created during the NNM provide an excellent opportunity for thoughtful analysis. (Contains 9 figures and 29 notes.)