The purposes of this study were to examine the experiences of African American female students attending urban community colleges, to gain further understanding of how they interpret the meaning of persistence, and to identify the factors that affect their persistence. African American women attending community college in Los Angeles were interviewed on their educational experiences and the meaning of persistence to them. The results of this study will offer researchers and community college leaders a broader and more in-depth perspective into the essence of persistence for African American female students. By focusing on individual students rather than groups of students, the study examines how persistence works in the day-to-day lives of these students. The study expresses these women’s concerns and may help make colleges more aware of their needs and issues.

The significance of this study is threefold. The first is to help a minority group of students who currently are trying to benefit from a community college education to find a voice so that they can describe their college experiences. The second is to describe, based both on the specific perceptions of the students interviewed as well as insights gained from the study of the relevant literature, the specific impact that urban community colleges have on the persistence of African American female students. The third is to add to the currently limited scholarly literature regarding the persistence of African American female students attending urban community colleges.