The Poverty Pimpin’ Project: how whiteness profits from black and brown bodies in community service programs

AbstractTutoring programs that link colleges to public schools are seen as a way to improve the academic performance of K12 students while providing a practicum site for college-age students. Prior research on college-K12 partnerships focuses on how the academic achievement of both K12 and college students are enhanced by these relationships. This article challenges the stock story that such outreach programs are unproblematic and entirely altruistic endeavors and offers insight into the bumpy terrain of town–gown relationships complicated by race, class and academic divides. Using critical race methodology, this research tells a counter-story that highlights the white savior and poverty pimpin’ projects of outreach work.Keywords: Critical race theorytown–gownengaged universitycommunity servicetutoringracism AcknowledgmentsThe authors would like to thank Kelley Abraham and Elysia Glover for superior research assistance above and beyond, in organizing an extraordinary amount of data, assisting tutors with recording equipment and analyzing data. Further appreciations to our colleague, Maria Hantzopoulos, for support in this writing as well as numerous other colleagues in the Faculty Success Program for reading drafts and providing feedback.Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.Notes1. All names of institutions, programs and individuals herein are pseudonyms.2. Places in the story that are in bolded font are quoted directly from the data verbatim Data are presented in the same or similar context