This article traces the reflections of the author as she remembers her time in Illinois as a graduate student and American Educational Research Association (AERA) postdoctoral research fellow. She remembers herself as a strong, independent, outspoken woman from a large east coast city who was attempting to fit into academic life while trying to fit into life in a large Midwestern city. Here Berry reflects upon the experiences she gained that laid the foundation of her identity as an academic and the ways in which this new identity converged with her existing identities as learner, educator, activist, and woman of color. She reflects on the ways in which her existing identities informed how she would understand this new identity. In this article Berry recalls the three people who were instrumental in the development of this new identity: Drs. Vinita M. Ricks, William Ayers, and William H. Watkins. The article begins with a summary of Watkins' seminal work. A discussion of Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Critical Race Feminism (CRF) follows. Next, the article discusses the places of convergence between the six Black curriculum orientations and the tenets/attributes of CRT and CRF. The article concludes with final thoughts about the scholarship of William H. Watkins.