Ming Smith’s diverse photographic oeuvre defies typical categorization. Arriving to New York City in the early 1970s after studying at Howard University, Smith became the first woman to join the Kamoinge Workshop, the landmark African American photography collective of the Civil Rights era. Her engagement with that critical discourse sharpened her focus as a photographer, and helped her develop some of her signature tools: careful application of motion blur, strong contrast of light and darkness, double exposures, and hand-alterations, all contributing to the psychically-charged atmosphere and sense of emotional ambiguity running through her practice. Exploring both street photography and controlled studio environments, Smith’s work resists straightforward narratives or didactic symbolism, instead respecting the elusiveness, specificity, and complexity of Blackness, and the diverse lived experiences of Black people in the world today.