Kpetay, Shakita2024-01-052024-01-052023https://hdl.handle.net/11299/259748University of Minnesota Ph.D. dissertation. --2023. Major: Education, Curriculum and Instruction. Advisors: Vichet Chhuon, Bic Ngo. 1 computer file (PDF); iv, 184 pages.School closure is one of the most controversial issues in education. Cities such as Chicago, Philadelphia, Detroit, New York City, and New Orleans have closed a large number of schools at one time while opening the doors of many charter schools (Buras, 2013; Lipman, 2012; Stovall, 2016; Watkins, 2012). Remnants of Hope: (Re) member, (Re) claim, and (Re) new is a critical ethnohistorical study that centers the experiences of students and educators who attended a public school that experienced school restructuring and later closure. Drawing from the Black heretical tradition, neoliberalism, and school closures, this dissertation examines how students and educators make sense of the school restructuring, closure, and highlights the ways that the political economy continues to shape education opportunities for Black/African American communities. Through archival analysis and interviews with students and educators who attended or worked at a school that was impacted by school closure, I explore the processes and problems associated with teaching and learning in these communities. I found that school closures are not just a one-time occurrence. It is a process that is impacted by race, gender, class, and geography. These closures can also lead to a disruption of community bonds and increased violence. I argue that scholars, educators, and policymakers need to ignite their critical historical collective consciousness and use intersectionality in the form of memory work to understand modern-day school closures and their impact on students and educators, more specifically Black/African American communities.enBlack Heretical TraditionCritical ethnographyCritical TheoryEducation PolicyOral HistorySchool ClosuresThesis or Dissertation