The Critical Literacy (CritLit) project promotes using critical texts to engage readers in examining their lived experiences and understanding of social justice issues. This study used a qualitative participatory approach with a narrative design to research the students' engagement in a book club using critical texts. Participants were fourth- and fifth-grade African American students who participated in a 4-week project at a weekend Islamic school in Philadelphia. I organized my study into four sessions. Three book club sessions were audio-recorded and observed. Field notes were taken; pre and post-interviews were conducted; student/teacher reflections were collected with students' notes and handouts; and cultural artifacts were collected by the participants. Data were collected and transcribed, and themes were identified. Findings show that engaging students in critical literacy enabled them to be critically conscious through deep analysis of social justice themes in the text. They also showed a connection between their personal narratives and systemic injustice expressing it through multimodality. Finally, they gained racial and cultural empowerment and envisioned change as individual and group responsibility. This study has significant implications for literacy education theory, methodology, practice, and policy. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]