Education in the United States is a different experience depending on where students live and go to school. The achievement and opportunity gaps illuminate disparities in the quality of education students of color and students living in poverty receive. When research is embedded within the practice of teaching, or practitioner inquiry, it has shown potential for building capacities for improved student learning, strengthening teachers' practices, and contributing to school or district level decisions. Practitioner inquiry, with a focus on making education more equitable, has shown promise for student-centered district and school improvements. The purpose of this study was to understand what happened when I brought an explicit equity focus to an existing practitioner inquiry experience for teacher candidates in the teacher education program at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Through the process of practitioner inquiry, I reflected upon my facilitation of teacher candidates completing internships for the culmination of a degree in elementary or early childhood education. The main sources of data included field notes taken during facilitation sessions, artifacts completed by interns throughout the process, researcher's journal entries taken immediately following each session, and participant interviews conducted after final presentations of work. As I reviewed and analyzed my data, three overarching themes emerged: Building Equity Consciousness with Equity Consciousness, Promoting Pride and Agency in Teacher Interns through Practitioner Inquiry, and Navigating Resistance to Full Immersion in Equity-Focused Inquiry. This study describes how I facilitated an equity-focused practitioner inquiry cycle embedded in teacher internships, the decisions I made through formative data analysis along the way, the resulting actions of the facilitated sessions, and the unique experiences of each intern. I conclude by sharing 11 lessons learned which fall under three overarching themes and implications this study has revealed for my future practice as a teacher educator and for the field of teaching and teacher education. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]