Yeboah, Mary2018-08-142018-08-142018-05https://hdl.handle.net/11299/199040University of Minnesota Ph.D. dissertation. May 2018. Major: Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development. Advisors: Karen Louis, Christopher Johnstone. 1 computer file (PDF); x, 193 pages.Abstract The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the reflections of identity, race, and relationships in the professional and educational experiences of retired African American teachers. The findings contribute knowledge to the field of education about how race mediates collegial relationships through identifying how racialized dynamics are remembered and understood by African American teachers within the context of their careers over time. The study amplifies the voices of Black educators in historically White-dominated professional and academic spaces. The stories and perspectives of retired African American public school teachers about their teaching careers can be a starting point for seeing, understanding, and appreciating the complexities and nuances of promoting racially just organizational dynamics in US public schools. Through this phenomenological study, I answered the following questions: 1. In what ways do retired African American public school teachers describe the historical and contemporary context of US race relations in schools and in society, and the implications for urban public schools, especially in relation to their own work? 2. In what ways do retired African American public school teachers conceptualize their personal identities and collegial relationships in the context of their workplaces over time? 3. In what ways did retired African American urban public school teachers evaluate how, when, and why race was talked about, if at all, either formally or informally in schools? I organized the findings of this study into three main themes that emerged during individual interviews with ten retired African American public school teachers in Chicago and the greater Chicago area. The themes include: 1) the perpetuation of the myth of racial progress: national-level racism; 2) the problem of racial segregation for schools and societies: school-level racism; and 3) the potential of relational networks for enhancing racial justice: prospects for change. The findings demonstrate that strengthening teacher relationships through facilitated cross-racial dialogue may be important for improving the professional experiences of African American teachers and ultimately for addressing systemic injustices as a way forward for accomplishing racial justice in schools and society. Key Words: cross-racial, social networks, identity, dialogue, professional developmentenCross-RacialDialogueIdentityProfessional DevelopmentRaceSocial NetworksThesis or Dissertation