An overview is presented of research on African American teachers, addressing the large body of literature written by policy analysts, first-person narratives, and the sociological and anthropological literature. Policy research has identified the small number of African American teachers and has studied some reasons for this shortage and some of the programs designed to combat it. First-person narratives have provided sensitive portraits of African American teachers and their influence. The sociological and anthropological literature on African American teachers is small, compared to the entire body of studies on teachers, and frequently portrays them in a negative light. Nevertheless, some research exists that indicates that the pedagogy of effective African American teachers is characterized by cultural solidarity, affiliation, and connectedness with the African American community. The meager volume of literature means that many questions about the effectiveness of African American teachers remain to be resolved. (Contains 130 references.) (SLD)