This article reports on the results of a qualitative study that focused on the use of critical pedagogy with African American males with labels of "emotional or behavioral disorders." The teachers in this study worked with students to examine and counter the ways that their status as a special education student affected their identities. The teachers worked with students to disrupt the hegemonic discourses of "deficient" that are often attached to special education labels by providing opportunities and experiences that challenge views of themselves as deficient and unable.