Despite the overwhelming evidence that African American males are disproportionately overrepresented in special education, school suspensions, high school dropout rates, and their overall academic achievement, there is little being done in schools and districts to specifically address these issues. The current body of research focuses on the practices of instructional leaders who are engaged in change processes that support student achievement, but there is limited research that identifies how those changes have impacted the achievement of African American male students. To address the gap in the literature, this study examines the following research question: What strategies, if any, do principals use to encourage teachers to use culturally relevant pedagogical practices that support the academic achievement of African American male students? The conceptual framework that I initially used to collect and analyze data for this study was culturally relevant pedagogy (Ladson-Billings, 1995a). However, during the analysis phase of the study, the need arose to examine the data through the lens of a more recently developed conceptual framework, culturally relevant leadership (Beachum, 2011). Through a series of qualitative phenomenological case studies, this study examined the practices of principals that create school cultures and structures that support the academic achievement of African American males. The significance of this study is that it adds to the empirical literature on educational leadership by addressing aspects of leadership consciousness, insight, and practice. This study paints a unique picture of the impact school leadership has on the systemic issues that perpetuate the low achievement of African American males. [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.]