Childhood obesity is reaching epidemic levels in the United States with current prevalence rates at more than three times the “Healthy People 2000” goal. African Americans, other minorities, and low SES populations are disproportionately affected, and the adverse cardiovascular, respiratory and endocrine health implications typically associated with adult obesity are now evident in children. Developing effective child obesity communication messages and interventions to reach African Americans is critical if the prevalence trends and health disparities are to be reversed. This exploratory study sought to add to the literature by examining the knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of an indicated group of young overweight African American children and their parents, and by better describing their felt experience. Principles of community psychology informed the philosophy and implementation of the study, as resulting guidance for community-based interventions was sought. This area of psychology also offers a collaborative approach to entering and working with communities, such as African Americans, who have shown suspicion to traditional research and also in this instance may not be motivated for change. Eighteen subjects participated in separate parent and child focus groups, and the data were analyzed using Strauss and Corbin’s (1998) grounded theory method. Nine key qualitative themes and directional implications from a parent survey are described in the results. Additionally, in order to understand clinical implications, two hybridized case studies representing prototypical client presentations were developed from the data and analyzed using Fishman’s (1999) pragmatic case study method. The cases represent a client who might be more responsive to intervention and one whose clinical presentation and situational characteristics suggest more barriers to treatment. A detailed case comparison further explicates attendant factors that are likely to affect communication messages, outreach, and treatment outcome with these types of clients. Study limitations are discussed, and the report concludes with implications for future community-based research and treatment, specifically with African Americans.