Colleges and universities across the nation are seeking a president with unique qualities to transform their institution. Notwithstanding, surprisingly, few studies have examined how African American presidents confront race while also successfully ascending into the presidency. The purpose of this study was to explore and interpret the experiences and perspectives of African American male college and university presidents in their ascension to presidency. This study aimed to catalyze strategies for leaders in higher education who aspire to ascend into presidency. In this critical phenomenological study, the researcher sought to address the experiences of 12 African American male college and university presidents in the South. This study included African American male presidents at public two-year institutions as well as public and private four-year institutions, some of which were Historically Black Colleges and Universities. By combining resilience theory and critical race theory, this study examined the impact of resilience and racism on African American males during their ascension to the presidency. A qualitative, phenomenological research design was selected incorporating semistructured interviews to explore and understand the lived experiences of African American male college and university presidents. Data analysis resulted in five major themes: expectation for excellence, pursuing the presidency, shaping of a president, perceptions on race shaping leadership, and lessons learned and paying it forward. The principle findings reveal that African American male college and university presidents experience obstacles, due to racism, impacting their trajectory to the presidency in ways that are different from their White male counterparts. The findings also suggest that the development of willpower emboldened participants to overcome adversity while navigating their trajectory to the presidency. This study also identifies emerging strategies for navigating the impact of racism on leadership during the presidency. [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.]