The purpose of this empirical study was to explore the lived experiences of African American retired female teachers who have prior experience with educating urban African American students in public schools. Also explored are the experiences of active African American female teachers of urban African American students and comparisons are analyzed. The research questions explore how retired African American educators perceived and describe their experiences with urban students and how their experiences can be used to improve teacher training programs designed to help teachers adapt to school reform. Conceptually, this study was framed within the context that stories are an effective way to communicate experiences, as supported by Dewey and Erickson. Data was collected through a series of interviews. Initially, a line by line analysis was conducted on the responses of 6 respondents, 3 retired and 3 active African American women, who were chosen from a large metropolitan area based upon their designation as retirees and their willingness to participate. Each interview question was coded for specific information. Each code was derived as a result of repetitive analysis with a goal of identifying patterns and drawing out as much information as possible about the respondents' lived experiences with urban educational. The results of the study suggest that listening to retirees is an effective way to evaluate previous pedagogues and practices, from the perspectives of those who lived through them, information about how they were implemented. The retirees were eager to use their experiences to convey messages of hope and give advice to pre-service and active teachers about strategies to use when adapting to educating urban African American students. This study contributes to positive social change by providing suggestions to improve professional development programs, which could lead to better teaching experiences for pre-service and active teachers and higher recruitment and retention rates for minority educators. Suggestions from this study also introduce methods that can positively impact interaction with this generation of urban students. [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.]