This study analyzes the ways in which raced consciousness inflects developing understandings of cultural responsiveness among preservice teachers whose preparation included responses to imaginative engagement with literary texts, interactions in an underresourced school, and exploration of key concepts of culturally responsive pedagogy. The authors analyze how this preparation created spaces that made the diverse and complex understandings of cultural responsiveness held by teacher candidates and instructors visible and how raced consciousness shaped these understandings. Findings suggest that incorporation of multicultural literary texts, continual interrogation of attitudes toward race and racism, and explicit engagement with raced consciousness fosters learning about how beginning teachers take up cultural responsiveness, given the persistent stereotypes and the raced consciousness that shape their language and perceptions. (Contains 5 notes.)