My dissertation is unique and contributes to the academic literature because it explores the barriers that retired and current African American women face while pursuing and working in higher education leadership roles in Arkansas. Using a narrative inquiry design, I interviewed 17 retired and working leaders by asking them to share their personal stories and to give recommendations for future women who aspire to work in a higher education leadership capacity. Critical race theory and Black feminist theory served as theoretical guides for this study and assisted with exploring their stories. Previous literature on barriers that African American women face while working in higher education leadership roles in other states suggested that women are stereotyped and face discrimination and sexism, along with battling concrete and glass ceilings. The first set of findings, divided into subcategories, are barriers because of unchangeable attributes, highlighting subcategories of discrimination because of participants' children, gender, race, and age. The second set of findings is barriers caused by the system, including subcategories of low pay and salary, low funding for the department, difficulties with the college system, grandfather clause or good ole boy system, and lack of professional development. The third set of findings are barriers because they were women, including subcategories such as women being held to higher standards, some men did not want to give women a chance, sexual harassment, women being expected to do more work than others, and men withholding information from women. The findings from this study confirm the literature but also add to the barriers, themes, and commonalities identified in previous studies. African American women in Arkansas continue to face barriers while working in higher education leadership roles. This is the first study to examine the experience of African American women in Arkansas specifically. There is room for improvement before women's voices are fully heard. The results of this study offer critical stories along with recommendations for improvement. [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.]