This paper contains historical views and will demonstrate how issues related to identity impact the stigmatization and marginalizing that underlie the underrepresentation of Black people in the STEM fields. In this paper, identity is defined within the educational context and a framework is provided for exploring how STEM students and professionals author and perceive their own identities in relation to their educational and professional aspirations. This paper will also demonstrate how these authored identities are impacted by those with whom they share the STEM learning and work environments. The authors will present their own data to further demonstrate how a focus on STEM identity development results in significantly enhanced STEM academic outcomes for Black students.