The purpose of my qualitative research is to reveal how four African-American men overcame inferior education and Jim Crow laws. In the early twentiethcentury the social and economic conditions of African American men were appalling,yet they refused to accept the notion of inferior beings and second-class citizenship.Phenomenological interviews were conducted. The major conclusions that evolvedfrom the data were that family and church were significantly important to theparticipants. This is a study about four African American men’s pedagogy, praxis andtheir quest for discovery, self-realization and high expectations. My inquiry is alsoabout their struggles, dreams, failures and disillusionment. 3