Traditionally, women's leadership has been overlooked and underappreciated by researchers and policymakers although this leadership has been vital to America's ultimate success and infrastructure. Simply stated, contributions of female leadership have been overshadowed by a system that primarily values patriarchal forms of leadership and oppresses females. African American female leaders have been a part of this exclusion. This study explored the underrepresentation of African female leaders by focusing on the experiences of seven former African American female principals. To understand their perspectives and experiences, this study uses narrative life history and draws on two complementary lenses which facilitate a greater understanding of the experiences associated with African American female principals: Standpoint Theory and a Womanist perspective. The capturing of the seven former principal experiences were accomplished by tracing events from their childhood, adult life, extracting life lessons, patterns of socialization, and further exploring their everyday leadership realities. The realities included their successes, failures, limitations, reconstructions of identity, and personal resolutions as practiced through their leadership. Some of the findings within this study supported previous research findings on the principalship and some of them shed new light on possible new findings. This conclusion gives credence to the notion that research on African American female principals is vital and necessary to understand a growing population of professionals that have traditionally been omitted from leadership literature on two counts, by race and gender. As researchers further understand their unique standpoints and realities, the field of education becomes more equipped to better serve its people and purpose. [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.]