Following the racial unrest of 2020, anti-racist rhetoric from K-12 schools and university teacher education institutes magnified. Despite claiming alliance with anti-racism, it became unclear whether the actions of teacher education, both in-service and pre-service, matched their rhetoric. To determine how, if at all, teacher education informs the practices and behaviors of teachers in contemporary classrooms, this phenomenological study aimed to explore and understand the phenomenon of anti-racist teaching as it is experienced by four white in-service secondary ELA teachers. While homogenous in racial identity, the settings in which participants practiced anti-racist teaching were heterogenous and included middle and high schools, urban and suburban schools, and alternative and traditional schools. The research questions that guided this inquiry included the following: (a) what are the educational lived histories of secondary ELA teachers regarding anti-racist teacher education?; (b) what anti-racist practices and behaviors have participants integrated into their curriculum and instruction as a result of their teacher education?; and (c) in what ways do the participants' experiences, practices, and behaviors reject or reflect the tenets of critical race theory? Data collected from semi-structured interviews, written journal responses, and analytic memos was coded and analyzed, and three main themes emerged: the support teachers received, the obstacles they faced, and the actions they took while engaging in anti-racist teaching. Framed by tenets of critical race theory, the major conclusion found was that context matters when it comes to the degree to which anti-racist teaching is encouraged or opposed. The presence and characteristics of whiteness served as an underlying instigator for how the notion of anti-racist teaching was received and/or rejected. The findings that emerged from the analysis of data provide a blueprint for teachers seeking to engage in this work and illustrate a plan for teacher educators attempting to break the disconnect between rhetoric and action. [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.]