Students who are African American and male living in the United States have been marginalized from gifted and talented and Advanced Placement (AP) classes in public education. Students who have enrolled in specifically AP English and have taken an AP English exam have been shown to outperform other types of students in college (Barnard-Brak, McGaha-Garnett, & Burely, 2011; Cech, 2008; Chajewski, Mattern, & Shaw, 2011; Hargrove, Godin, & Dodd, 2008; Keng & Dodd, 2008; Mattern, Marini, & Shaw, 2013; Mustafa & Compton, 2017; Patterson & Ewing, 2013). Attending college and earning a collegiate degree offers a multitude of benefits; however, “college entrance and matriculation for African America students remains critically low,” especially for males (Curry & Shillingford, 2015, p. 14). This research study examined how students who are African American and male came to enroll in an AP English course, how they maintained their success in an AP English course, what and who influenced them along the way, and what later impact AP English had on their lives, especially as collegiate scholars. The researcher was the participants’ high school AP English teacher and relied on her personal experiences in teaching AP English to frame her research. The participants attended a high school where the ethnicity demographics of students closely mirrored the ethnicity percentages of the U.S. population. The school is well-funded, well-staffed and serves a middle class socio-economic population. Despite this, African American male students who attend this school continue to be underrepresented in AP English courses and in completing and passing AP English exams. Using a cross-comparison of eight distinct case studies following qualitative research protocol, the researcher was able to interview and create narratives of the participants’ experiences in AP English. This dissertation analyzes and synthesizes findings from the interviews to establish how the participants enrolled in AP English and maintained success. Additionally, the study focused on the influences on their success and the later impact on their lives. The findings from this study suggest that for the participants, college acceptance and completion as a “nonnegotiable” significantly influenced their conviction for taking AP English. The participants determined that AP English would influence college acceptance, which is part of the “educational game” students are aware of when attempting to market themselves for college enrollment. Teachers, family members, and peers in G.T. and AP classes were described as influential on enrollment and success. This study led to the discussion of how to include more students who are African American males in AP English class. It also contributes to educational policy that continues to weigh the pros and cons of offering AP English courses.