African American children continue to lag behind their European American counterparts academically. There is little research on the perspective of teachers in nontraditional classroom settings and their experiences with students and reading literacy. In order to secure support for literacy programs or strengthen existing programs, there is a need for additional research that sheds light on contributing corollary factors to improve reading literacy among African Americans. This research sought to enrich the current body of knowledge by including the perspectives of Sunday school teachers on reading literacy among the African American students they teach. In depth interviews provided the experiences of Sunday school teachers with African American youth and literacy. Identification of commonalities was grouped together highlighting dominant themes and compared to original transcripts for confirmation. Additional research that looks at resources to improve reading literacy for African Americans is important and aids closing the reading literacy gap. [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.]