Our increasingly diverse classrooms require pedagogical approaches that foster intercultural and intersectional competence. Culturally responsive pedagogy has been found to reduce dropout rates for students of color by 40-60%, according to some studies. Culturally relevant and sustaining pedagogy is a form of social justice that provides a framework to strengthen positive racial identity and student’s and teacher’s critical consciousness. According to UNESCO data, less than 40% of countries report having policies or regulatory frameworks to ensure culturally appropriate and inclusive education. Integrating culturally relevant teaching into professional learning creates identity-safe and empowering classrooms worldwide. This theme will focus on using culturally relevant and sustaining pedagogies as a vehicle to strengthen students’ positive racial identity development, and student learning outcomes. We will isolate race as a constant construct in intercultural and intersectionality. Research-based strategies will be explored as a way to advance social justice through this theoretical lens. This may include examining how to transform inequitable systems by fostering identity affirmation, amplifying diverse voices, and activating students as agents of change that can ultimately drive impactful social transformation.