Today marks the centennial anniversary of the birth of Brazilian philosopher Paulo Freire. Most widely known for his magisterial Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Freire continues to be a lodestar for teachers working in poverty-stricken communities across the globe, and for just about anyone who’s searching for a sense of justice in an unjust world.

Every critically minded educator has at some point used Freire in their teaching — either to gain some insight into the upside-down world of the oppressed or as the inspiration that led them to view teaching as a way to overturn society’s asymmetries of power and privilege. Freire’s literacy programs for empowering peasants are now used in countries all over the globe, and Pedagogy of the Oppressed is currently the third-most-cited work in the social sciences, and first in the field of education.

Freire’s celebrity has made him both a target and a prophet in his home country of Brazil. Presently, he is being singled out by far-right groups like Movimento Brasil Livre and Revoltados Online, and president Jair Bolsonaro claims he is behind a conspiracy of Marxist indoctrination in the Brazilian school system.