Editorial: Letting Students Lead the Way to Justice

As I write this editorial, almost a year has passed since the 2023 ELATE Summer Conference in Atlanta. Yet the connecting, presenting, socializing, and theorizing that occurred at the conference continue to generate important research and practices for the field of English language arts teacher education. This second special issue on the conference theme of “Centering Hope and Organizing for Justice” expands on this theme in exciting ways, sharing research that will move education closer to justice. Yet before I highlight the justice-centered work contained in this issue, I first want to reflect on the elements of hope and justice from the conference theme and how they are operating in my life, scholarship, and activism, considering these questions: What is giving me hope right now? And how does hope help me organize for justice? I invite you, dear reader, to consider these questions alongside me.