The purpose of this study is to explore and understand how social justice leaders develop. This study reports the findings of social justice leaders who experienced childhood poverty and currently work as principal in Title I schools. This study utilized qualitative research methodology, specifically narrative inquiry, to answer the research question. To collect data, I utilized narrative interviews to allow the principals to tell their stories. Participants met three criteria to be a part of this study: principal of Title I school, identifies as social justice leader, and experienced poverty during childhood. The analysis of the data revealed that all principals in this study displayed characteristics associated with authentic leadership, including experiencing critical life events and moral reasoning. This study finds that the path to social justice leadership emergence is consistent with the development of authentic leadership. This places high importance on authentic leadership framework, as it determined to be a useful theory to understand the emergence of social justice leadership. The implications of this study is to create workshops/trainings to influence the following three areas of education related to principal training and development: colleges, schools, and school board associations. [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.]