Education remains the single most important means by which individuals in the United States can empower themselves economically, socially, and personally. In spite of this, a significant percentage of young African American males do not even appear to be competing or reaching for the educational opportunities before them as they rank the poorest amongst their peers in a myriad of academic indicators. Despite the significant body of research describing the various barriers to African American males’ academic achievement, there remains little research seeking to understand why numerous African American males do achieve academically and professionally despite facing many of the same ecological factors as their peers. This study seeks to provide new knowledge about how and why African American males achieve, by focusing on eleven highly successful and efficacious African American male college/university presidents. It examines a) the formation of each president’s educational identity and beliefs, as well as b) the development of their sense of agency and resilience, and c) how, despite their individual hurdles, they were able to thrive – all essential elements of self-efficacy. By examining each president’s responses through a self-efficacy framework, this work hopes to reveal new themes about race and gender, African American males in particular, and to discover instrumental elements that can lead to academic success in the classroom for a new generation of young, African-American males.