Nurturing “A Specific Kind of Unicorn-y Teacher”: How Teacher Activist Networks Influence the Professional Identity and Practices of Teachers of Color

This article highlights the ways justice-oriented activist teachers of Color nurture themselves professionally through their involvement in critical professional development through activist teacher networks. This study conducted narrative inquiries of 26 activist teachers of Color across the United States. The counter-stories told by the teachers in this study reflect critical intellectual engagement and highlight specific ways in which these organizations further teacher sustainability, nurturance, and social change. This unified portrait shows a unique interplay between support of moral purpose, intellectual inquiry, and democratic change.