Photographs taken by professional and vernacular African-American photographers over the past 170 years shed light on the lives of black families. The Thomas Allen Harris-directed film was inspired by author Deborah Willis' "Reflections in Black"; and features photos by Carrie Mae Weems, Lorna Simpson, Anthony Barboza, Lyle Ashton Harris, Hank Willis Thomas, Coco Fusco and Clarissa Sligh, among others.