Researchers have long documented the need for increased representation of African American teachers in the United States teacher workforce. However, much of the resulting literature has been unsuccessful in eliciting change, as it does not explain "why" this need for increased representation persists. To address this gap, various researchers have turned to documenting the barriers which exist for African Americans at multiple stages of the process of becoming a teacher. This paper reviews, summarizes, and critiques this literature in order to document and describe the current depiction of the context of becoming a teacher for African Americans. Limitations in the literature are described based on Padilla (Handb Res Multicult Educ 2:127-145, 2004), and future steps to accommodate for and surpass the weaknesses of the current literature are provided.