The relationship of racial group concepts (racial preference and racial attitudes) to general and specific self-esteem in black children was examined in this study. A secondary purpose of this study was to assess the validity of Nobles' (1973) theory that racial group attitudes influence the black American's concept of "self." The subjects were 210 black children in grades three to six. A black experimenter administered (1) a variation of the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory (CSEI) to measure general and specific self-esteem, and (2) a variation of the Preschool Racial Attitude Measure II (PRAM II) to measure racial preference and racial attitude. Results indicated no relationship between racial group concepts and general or specific self-esteem. Significant grade level differences were found to partially support Nobles' theory. Physical/Appearance esteem (one of the items from the CSEI) was the single best predictor of general self-esteem. (Author/MP)