Gloria Ladson-Billings, acclaimed African American scholar and teacher educator, examines the field of teacher education through the accomplishments and contributions of well-known African American teacher educators— Lisa Delpit, Carl Grant, Jacqueline Jordan Irvine, Geneva Gay, Cherry McGee Banks, William Tate, and Joyce King.

Using in-depth interviews and storytelling, Ladson-Billings depicts deeply personal portraits of these scholars’ experiences to confront race and racism, not only theoretically, but within their everyday professional lives in “the Big House” of the academy. Ladson-Billings gives these portraits even greater resonance and meaning by pairing these teacher educators with historical figures—such as Harriet Tubman, Nat Turner, and Charlotte Forten—whose contributions to the struggle for social justice are a wellspring of hope and courage to all educators, and a tribute to African Americans whose political, scientific, and spiritual efforts made life better for us all.