In this chapter we locate the question of ‘radical pedagogy’ in the current moment: a time in which insurgent social movements (such as #rhodesmustfall, #metoo, and #blacklivesmatter) are raising pertinent questions of representation, accountability and justice in society as well as at universities. We reflect on our own pedagogical-scholarly practice, and ask whether it is possible to separate language activism from other kinds of social-justice/decolonial/anti-colonial activism. In answering this question we draw on the Black racial tradition(s), and we emphasize the importance of being attuned to one’s local context. In our case this means the settler-colonial realities of post-apartheid South Africa, and the Imperial university. Being an activist-scholar means that one has to be prepared to engage in ‘difficult conversations’, with other scholars, but also with students and the wider community. These are conversations that are grounded in a willingness to ‘unlearn’ and to engage in ‘dialogics’ (Paolo Freire, 1968). One area where these ‘difficult conversations’ have gained traction is around questions of citation and curriculum: How can we teach and use citation practices that are ethically responsible? Can we develop an ethics of citation, and create a curriculum that is ethically sound?