Seven African-American women and men faculty members at a Southeastern urban research university reflect on their collective experiences of creating an intellectual community and spearheading an urban teacher education initiative within their School of Education . Employing a qualitative self-study and project reflection approach, the authors situate themselves within the historical trajectory of the African-American struggle for education, emphasizing the problems and promises confronting contemporary urban educators. Highlighting their role in launching the Training and Retaining Urban Student Teachers (T.R.U.S.T.) Initiative in the Birmingham City Schools, the authors conclude that the future of urban education is predicated on the capacity of contemporary African-American educators to forge effective alliances first with one another, and then with other partners in higher education, urban school districts, the local community, and national educational organizations.