The goals of language education in the United States have always been informed by the social, historical, and political contexts in which the instruction takes place. In this paper, we make the case for social justice education in all language classrooms, and we explore the different threads of scholarship that inform social justice in language education. We begin with the Communities and Cultures standards, and then discuss critical pedagogy and transformative learning. Avenues and opportunities are explored for effective social justice instruction at the lesson planning and course design level, and for professional development. This paper concludes with a call to action for all language teachers.