Levner is co-founder of Critical Exposure, a nonprofit focused on teaching D.C. students photography techniques. It then helps them apply their newly acquired skills to exposing the differences between the city’s best and worst schools with the goal of pushing public officials to act. How did you decide to start Critical Exposure?
I was working in low-income schools and saw tremendous discrepancies between those schools and wealthier schools. It’s difficult to convey those differences to the public and the officials who are in the position to make things better. I’m a photographer, so it was natural to use photography to highlight what’s going on in our schools. We started in 2004 in Baltimore and shifted to D.C. in 2006.
Was there something particular that attracted you to D.C.?
We always wanted to do this work in the District, but started in Baltimore for logistical reasons. I live in D.C. It’s a city that needs this type of work. There’s not enough attention paid to needs of low-income schools here, and this type of insight helps show what needs to happen make improvements.
Has it been successful?
We’ve worked with 125 students a year and their work has been displayed all over the city in coffee shops, churches, synagogues and libraries. We’ve exposed thousands of residents to the circumstances in District schools. The students’ photographs helped push the [D.C. Council] to approve $400 million in funding to modernize the city’s schools.
Was there a project that created direct change?
The students in one school felt the security were not being respectful and their concerns weren’t being heard by the faculty. So they took photos exemplifying the disrespectful treatment and showed it to the school administration. The faculty then met with the security guards, talked to them about the situation and created specific policies that they posted around the school.
Freeman Klopott
