Culturally responsive pedagogy, as defined by one of the most prominent authors in the field, Geneva Gay (2002), is "using the cultural characteristics, experiences, and perspectives of ethnically diverse students as conduits for teaching them more effectively". Culturally responsive pedagogy can be thought of, then, as teaching practices that attend to the specific cultural characteristics that make students different from one another and from the teacher. "Cultural characteristics" include commonly thought of concepts such as values, traditions, and language, but also extends to include concepts such as communication, learning styles, and relationship norms. Culturally responsive pedagogy is one means to the ultimate objective of multicultural education for all. This literature review elucidates four teacher practices that are essential if teachers are going to effectively design and implement culturally responsive pedagogy. These four practices are: (1) that teachers are empathetic and caring; (2) that they are reflective about their beliefs about people from other cultures; (3) that they are reflective about their own cultural frames of reference; and (4) that they are knowledgeable about other cultures. Since the data presented shows that the diverse student population in the United States is not being adequately educated, and classroom teachers have the most direct contact with these students during school, a logical focus for this literature review was teacher characteristics that would ensure the delivery of culturally responsive pedagogy.