Paulo Freire was born in Recife, Brazil, in 1921. Though of a middle-class background, his family endured poverty and hunger in the years leading up to and during the Great Depression. This experience had a profound and lasting effect on Freire, leading him to make a vow as a schoolboy to dedicate his life to the struggle against hunger. At any early age, Freire came to know intimately the plight of the impoverished and discover the “culture of silence” surrounding the oppressed that was maintained by the traditional system of education.

Freire studied philosophy, law, and the psychology of language at the University of Recife. He was appointed the Director of the Department of Education and Culture of the Social Service in the northeastern Brazilian state of Pernambuco in 1946 and worked with the illiterate poor, developing a secular form of liberation theology. He became Professor of the History and Philosophy of Education and the director of the Department of Cultural Extension of Recife University in the early 1960s. During this time, he helped develop and implement an educational project aimed at dealing with mass illiteracy among Brazilian peasants in Pernambuco. The success of this project, based on Freire’s pedagogical theories, prompted the Brazilian government to expand the movement to several states.