This study examined areas of concern within the community college level of higher education affecting the retention and attrition rates of African American male first-year students at three community colleges in the state of New Jersey. It used a four-stage investigative design to identify variable factors that are correlated to retention and attrition. The participants of this study were first-year Black male students from the three participating institutions in New Jersey. The researcher applied descriptive, correlational, and logistical regression statistics to analyze the data collected from the following instruments employed in the study: the Grit-S Scale, the Resilience Scale™ (RS14), and selected and approved questions from the Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE). Framed by Duckworth's (2016) theory of grit and the Resilience Scale™ created by Wagnild and Young (1993), along with data provided by the CCSSE, this study sought to discover the factors that may determine the retention and the success of African American male students at the three participating New Jersey community colleges in this study. The study also pursued ascertaining what factors may cause attrition among the Black male students at their community colleges. The study found that although grit and resilience are important factors in African American male community college student's level of achievement, faculty-student engagement is the dominant factor contributing to the retention and success of these learners with respect to earning a degree and transferring to a four-year institution of higher education. This study found that for every one unit of increase in faculty-student engagement provided to Black male students, retention rates increased by double that amount. This evidence suggests that these institutions must enhance their efforts in faculty-student engagement of this at-risk student population through programs of mentorship and on-campus resources such as Black Male Initiative (BMI) groups where faculty and African American male students can come together to discuss their academic and personal goals. This study highlights the relevance of Astin's (1993a) research on involvement that demonstrated how a student's success was connected to the student's engagement with their environment. The study also supports Pascarella's (1980) conceptual model, which pointed out that faculty student engagement was a contributing component of student retention. Lastly, this study provides relevance to the seminal research of Tinto (2017) that addressed retention issues among Black males at community colleges by positing that academic and social integration and engagement need to be established. Tinto believed that this could be the difference between retention and attrition of this student population within community colleges. However, as noted in the research of Wood et al. (2015), all parties involved must welcome this engagement. This means that all community colleges must embrace the tenets of faculty-student engagement on their campuses so that African American male students feel that they belong and are retained. According to Harrison and Palacios (2014), if Black males are welcomed and provided with a sense of belonging within their college environment, there are higher student engagement levels. [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.]