A pressing cause for concern for social justice-oriented music educators in the United States is the rise of divisive concepts laws (Bylica et al., 2024; Salvador et al., 2023a; 2023b). These laws, which are often described as targeting diversity, equity, and inclusion or critical race theory, can create fear in teachers that supporting minoritized students could result in the loss of their job. One pedagogical response to this situation is culturally sustaining pedagogy (CSP) (Paris, 2012). CSP emphasizes helping students maintain their cultural identity in the face of practices in education that can lead to cultural assimilation (Paris, 2012). In music education, students may feel pressured to subsume their identity to perform Western classical and traditional musics (Good-Perkins, 2021). Yet, because discussions of race and racism are a prominent aspect of supporting students who are historically marginalized through CSP, it can be targeted by these laws.In this theoretical paper, I examine whether enacting CSP is sustainable in the current U.S. sociopolitical climate. I argue that it can be sustained through teacher activism, grounded in Reddick’s (2023) framework of restorative resistance. Originally developed for higher education, this framework is well-suited to application in K-12 education context as well. Implications for CSP educators include activist self-care, considering the institution and individuals when working for change, and promoting mentoring and community.For music educators, restorative resistance entails building relationships with administrators to encourage support for CSP, mentoring colleagues and students, and fostering networks of engaged educators. At the same time, Reddick (2023) underscores the necessity of rest, empathy, and balance in sustaining long-term change. Importantly, Reddick (2023) recommends working within the system both at a small-scale and large-scale, employing empathy to understand the viewpoints of those who may disagree, and reinforcing relationships while advocating for structural change. Achieving this balance is the essential to creating change within an organization or institution (Reddick, 2023).In this presentation, I also offer implications for K-12 music educators interested in enacting restorative resistance (Reddick, 2023), including practical strategies for teachers to advocate for CSP while safeguarding their well-being and reinforcing their communities of practice.