Living Laboratories: Remapping Experiments in Empire Through Angel Island During the Chinese Exclusion Era

Tala Khanmalek
Ethnic Studies
UC Berkeley

This project explores the reconstitution of Crenshaw High School in Los Angeles as part of the broader trend of school closures and privatization in American public education. Reconstitution of public schools was a key feature of education reform under President Obama, whose administration sought to “turn-around the nations” lowest-performing schools. This turn-around consists of firing and replacing school staff and turning schools to private companies, charter organizations, or, in the case of Crenshaw, converting it into three magnet schools. This prompted resistance from community members who wanted to save a neighborhood institution from reforms imposed unilaterally by the district. The film projects aim centers on revealing a microcosm of a grassroots movement opposing the privatization of public schooling.