To date, African American and black students comprise only 4.8 percent of the total undergraduate student population at The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Clearly, this is, to a great extent, one result of the following determinants of the institution’s culture: uneven playing fields in early childhood, primary/secondary education, the dismantling of Affirmative Action as a legal mechanism for addressing systemic and historic barriers to admission for students of color, the volatile political economy of higher education (specifically, cuts to funding for higher education), lack of administrative priority vis-à-vis scholarships for black student enrollment, racist philanthropic and advancement practices, burgeoning equity issues, and cultural suppression of black students on campus. As such, many African American students are expressing grief, frustration, and anger about their overall experience as students at the internationally renowned institution.