The title of this series (The Misappropriation of Educational Funds) alludes to the severe financial disparity that the Detroit Public School system has faced for almost two decades. Whether district resizing due to lower enrollment or elected officials mismanaging funds, this project is not limited to just the city of Detroit. These collapsing spaces are symbolic of our current, rapidly changing climate in the education system nationally.

This series of images explores two of the many vacant school buildings that are across the city of Detroit, abandoned shells of their former glory. This project was captured on a Sony A7RV paired with a telephoto lens that allowed me to compress these vast empty spaces into flat ones. Through colors, significant details and various contrasts, this project brings the viewer into these spaces offering a perspective of what once was and what exists now. The images take a naturalistic approach, documenting the locations as found while simultaneously expressing the severe need for revitalization of our educational system and communities.

I thought this project began with me teaching photography to youth through after school programs—where I noticed various vacant school buildings as I traveled across the Metro Detroit area. However, I recall how my parents taught my sister and I how important resources like the education system are to every individual and their respective communities. With additional influence from photographers such as Andrew Moore and Lori Nix, this project started to take its own form as I embarked on this photographic journey. Through this project, I hope to drive a change in which these buildings can once again become assets to their community, even if they are not in the form of traditional schools. Whether trade schools, recreational centers, or warming shelters, these vacant buildings can once again become assets to their community. 

The images from this project were taken in two former schools, across several weeks. One building was Ralph J. Bunche Elementary which was closed in 2010. The other was originally Servite Catholic High School, later Colin Powell Academy (K-6) also closed in 2010.