ABSTRACT RIA CRYSTAL DIANE JOHNSON. A Qualitative Case Study Exploring Black Beginning Teachers’ Perceptions of Their Preparedness to Teach Racially Diverse Students.(Under the direction of DR. CHANCE LEWIS) Beginning teachers are more likely to secure jobs in diverse school districts (Gagnon & Mattingly, 2012; Holme et al., 2018). Unfortunately, beginning teachers are also more likely to leave diverse school districts and urban schools due to a number of challenges (Doran, 2020; Howard & Milner, 2021). Because these schools consist predominantly of students of color, the high turnover affects students’ academic success (Ladson-Billings, 2022). Additionally, beginning teachers in these specific school settings have been historically non-proficient in providing students of color with a culturally relevant education (Ladson-Billings, 1995a) which has caused the educational system to be centered around a Eurocentric perspective and not reflective of students’ racial diversity (Davis et al., 2022). Using a critical lens, this study explores three Black beginning teachers’ perceptions of preparedness in teaching racially diverse students and the influences it has on their teaching practices. Keywords: Black beginning teachers, racially diverse students, perceptions, preparedness