ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the authors outline how they approach Freirean culture circles as a strategy for cultivating critical literacies of racial injustice with teachers and communities. Using culture circles in our formal and informal teacher education contexts pushed us to identify the need of a critical pedagogy of teacher education. And while the authors recognize that culture circles will have to be recreated and reinvented across contexts rather than simply "imported", they propose that Freirean culture circles can serve as a framework for envisioning a critical pedagogy that moves teacher education beyond ivory towers by including community members and by centering on community issues of equity and racial justice. Despite the stressful and physical demands of teaching, an overwhelming number of educators from across the New York City area willingly woke up early on Saturday mornings, navigated the intricacies of the subway system, and made the trek to Harlem for monthly culture circles.
