A significant number of African American high school students are at risk academically and in danger of failure and/or dropping out of school. There is a need to understand the concerns, problems and challenges these students experience. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore the perceptions that African American students have of their educational process. The research question used in the study was what are the perspectives of African American high school students on their educational experiences. The participants shared their lived experiences and feelings as African American seniors in two local urban high schools. The participants used in the study consisted of 12 at risk African American high school seniors, 7 male and 5 female. The criteria used for the sample selection were low SES which was defined by free lunch, bottom 50% by GPA of class, and suspension at least once and/or referral list. Each student was interviewed in three separate interviews per student. These interviews were conducted for thirty to forty five minutes each and consisted of open-ended questions. The findings in the study revealed student's felt antagonized and disrespected by administrators and teachers, felt teachers didn't care, and administrators and teachers perceived them as behaving poorly. The common factor that was shared by all students was their resilience, motivation to persevere, and determination to strive toward graduating high school. The implications suggested that schools should provide professional development for staff to self assesses their own culture, and to value and understand African American student culture.