The authors expand discussions about critical literacy with a focus on how quick writes can be used to facilitate critical literacy within the context of both teaching and learning. Quick writes, initiated by carefully crafted invitations, are presented as a low-risk space for students to address issues of social justice and civil rights. Writing artifacts of five students, gathered in the context of a six-month classroom inquiry, are considered through a lens of critical literacy and provide authentic representations of student learning. Practical suggestions are offered to help teachers support students as they become critically literate, specifically through the practices of carefully crafted invitations to write and student quick writes.