At Cal State Long Beach, an art exhibition on police violence turns into protest over the firing of the museum’s director

The Sunday opening of artist lauren woods’ “American Monument” at the University Art Museum at Cal State Long Beach was meant to protest police violence against African Americans. ‘American Monument’ is part of this culture.” In an email to the campus arts community on the day of the firing, Parker-Jeannette called Meyer “an asset to the museum and to the university” who has “helped expand the visibility of the museum in the community.” Meyer came to University Art Museum at Cal State Long Beach from West Hollywood’s MAK Center for Art and Architecture in 2016 with the vision, she says, of making the museum’s program more social justice oriented. And this was my first big project there.” The exhibition, which is “about language, law, violence and race,” as the university describes it, takes over all the museum’s exhibition space and examines the cultural circumstances under which police killings of African Americans take place. It was conceived as something that grows and moves beyond its first iteration, so it’s also process based, more work was to be done, more research.” Meyer says the reason for her firing remains “the million dollar question.” woods says that she felt “the choice to terminate her five days before the launch was an attempt to suffocate what the work was about.” Terri Carbaugh, a spokesperson for the university, says those sentiments are entirely off the mark.