African American educational leadership has long been part of American education and African American activism to resist oppression. However, the field of educational leadership has rarely included the contributions of African American leaders, particularly women leaders, into mainstream leadership theory and practices. This omission is difficult to understand given that the most wide-reaching educational reform initiatives of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries were enacted to address the education and achievement of African American students from low socioeconomic environments. This study examines African American educational leadership theories and practices in two ways. I first analyze the historical documents of several major African American female leaders who worked as educators from 1865-1954 and in doing so uncover and recover their leadership theories and practices. I also analyze the interview data of two current African American women school superintendents to understand how they theorize and practice leadership as African American women in a predominately White, male professional position. Their narratives illuminate the many ways that past and present leadership theories aligned conceptually, despite profoundly different historical, social and political contexts. My analyses of the historical documents and interview data I collected indicate that fundamental to the development of African American women leaders are maternal influence, resislience and peseverance, and a commitment to activist leadership; additionally these leaders regard culturally relevant teaching, spirituality and servant leadership as essential components of African American leadership theory. Finally, I argue that it is critical for leadership education to include an understanding of how race, gender and class are intersectional identities of school leaders and that African American educational leadership must be mainstreamed into leadership theory and practices. [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.]