Early laws prohibited African Americans from learning to read and write in the United States. The right to an education has produced a significant number of African American women acquiring higher education. Racial and gender diversity at the presidential level in higher education 4-year institutions appears to be changing rapidly. The data suggest that African American women have made tremendous strides in presidential appointments since the beginning of the twentieth century, but more appointments of women are needed to close the racial and gender gap at the helm of America's higher education institutions. (Contains 3 tables.)