America ReFramed

Students like José Modesto are absent from school to no fault of their own. Their parents are migrant farm workers and are allowed to live near their school for only part of the year when the housing centers are open. Where do they go in the off-season? Families must live 50 miles away as part of state housing rules and so with the rising cost of unsubsidized housing, most go to Mexico.

In California’s Central Valley, hundreds of Latinx youth miss months of school annually, because they live with their families in one of the state’s farmworker housing centers. These subsidized apartments require families to move out each winter and relocate at least 50 miles away before being allowed to return in the spring. These cycles of displacement come at a high cost to families’ futures.

Jessica Romero, a high school student, talks with her guidance counselor, Jessica Muñoz, about spending her senior year away from her family. She is staying in California while her parents must remain in Mexico due to the state's migrant laws that mandate they do not live in the area for at least 3 months.

In the spring, migrant farm workers arrive to one of California's 24 migrant housing centers to try to "win" the apartment lottery. If they and their family are lucky enough, they have to follow the rules of the state in order to live there, including moving 50 miles away once the center closes for the season, leaving school-age children with only a part-year education.

In California’s Central Valley, hundreds of Latinx youth miss months of school annually, because they live with their families in one of the state’s farmworker housing centers. These subsidized apartments require families to move out each winter and relocate at least 50 miles away before being allowed to return in the spring. These cycles of displacement come at a high cost to families’ futures.

After moving into the housing centers in the spring, migrant farm workers are ready for the growing and harvesting seasons that come with agricultural work. Some people are young and just starting out while others have been farming for decades and are used to the temporariness of the lifestyle.

José Modesto and other migrant high school students attend school for part of the year due to California's strict state housing rules. This not only means they are missing out on academics but time to make friends, commit to afterschool activities like sports and clubs, and go to key social events. In such vulnerable coming of age years, the mental health of students is tested.

Alaudin Ullah talks about the cultural revolution known as hip hop in Harlem. Ullah felt like an outsider when he was growing up so he connected to the music and the people. But this also meant a rejection of his Bangladeshi culture which his parents did not understand as they were proud of who they were and where they came from.

Growing up, Alaudin Ullah was at odd with his parents and his Bengali culture. Now as an adult, Ullah is learning about who his father was and how he immigrated to America, and the meeting and marriage between his parents. What he uncovers throughout his journey is eye opening.

As a teen, Alaudin Ullah was swept up by the energy of hip-hop and rebelled against his Bangladeshi roots. Now a playwright contending with post-9/11 Hollywood’s Islamophobia, he sets out to tell his parents’ stories. IN SEARCH OF BENGALI HARLEM tracks his quest from mid-20th-century Harlem to Bangladesh, unveiling intertwined histories of South Asian Muslims, African Americans, and Puerto Ricans.

Alaudin Ullah talks about his childhood experience as both Bengali and American in Harlem, New York. The stand-up comedian and playwright shares how he and his family were viewed and the affect it had on him throughout his early years in public school.

Stevie and Waday Walker-Webb talk on the phone about Waday's wishes after he is released from prison - he was arrested during a mental health crisis. Stevie is working with family members who have incarcerated loved ones to present and protest solitary confinement through a 24-hour representation.