WHAT ARE YOU DOING FOR OTHERS? A COMMUNITY-CENTERED RESPONSE TO NEOLIBERAL EDUCATION FROM A RELIGIOUS NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION

This paper explores the possibilities of community-centered education as a critique of neoliberalism. Education in the United States has been defined by neoliberal policy and practice for decades, but recent crises in health and racial justice represent an opportunity to challenge its authority. Using an ethnographic approach, I focus on a religious non-profit organization that navigates the competing demands of neoliberal society and community empowerment and provides some insights for other programs in the current moment. I argue that these insights could be particularly useful to programs such as those based in communitarianism or racial justice.