For far too long, Black women’s significant contributions to movements for racial justice in America have been overshadowed and undervalued. The 2020 documentary Unapologetic gives Black women leaders within the ongoing Movement for Black Lives their flowers now while they can still smell them. Directed by Ashley O’Shay and produced by Morgan E. Johnson—two Black women—the film follows two young Chicago-based activists, Janae and Bella, as they fight for justice for the police murders of Rekia Boyd and Laquan McDonald.

Using clips from Unapologetic, this lesson provides a framework for viewing radical Black women’s activism in Chicago today as part of a continuum. Students will learn that there is no Janae and Bella without foremothers like Ida B. Wells-Barnett and Margaret Burroughs. The lesson encourages students to think about how the past has shaped the present and how the present will shape the future.