The history of African Americans seeking medical education in the United States is rooted in a legacy of racial segregation, cultural constructs, and legal doctrine that differs from other ethnic and racial groups. The disturbing results of this legacy are that while African Americans account for 12.9% of the U.S. population, they only account for 3.3% of practicing physicians. Of equal concern is the paucity of Black males pursuing clinical medicine. Black males account for 2.49% of matriculates for the incoming class of 2010. Using critical race theory as a theoretical and analytical framework, this phenomenological study examines the lived experiences of fourth year, second generation U.S. born black males attending predominately white medical schools. These lived experiences highlight strategies of African American male students successfully navigating medical school and suggest factors that contribute to the access, participation, and retention of these scholars in medical school. Moreover, challenging the deficit discourse commonly applied in educational research into the experiences of African American males, this study is a critical race counternarrative on how U.S. born black males succeed in medical school. [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.]