Soulful wisdom of Antonia Darder: the struggle for cultural democracy

Abstract

This paper reflects on the life and soulful wisdom of critical pedagogue, Antonia Darder. It is situated as a response to her recent article “Reflections on Cultural Democracy and Schooling” (this issue), and illuminates the authors take on her powerful scholarship and life. In line with the humanizing and emancipatory intent of Darder’s work, this paper will reflect upon salient themes of her work, including: love as a political force, language as a site of struggle, cultural workers in the struggle for freedom, and the impact of her seminal text Culture and Power in the Classroom. Committed to a lifelong culturally democratic political project, Darder’s teachings serve as a guide for educators who take up the call for social justice.