The use of culturally relevant material for urban students with special education/reading risk is frequently promoted in the literature; however, the empirical evidence appears limited. This study included eight African American urban second-grade students who scored within the at-risk range on the DIBELS Oral Reading Fluency measure. The students read culturally relevant and non-culturally relevant passages to assess differences in reading fluency, comprehension, and passage likeability. Results from an alternating treatment design and the Wilcoxon test indicated that students were more fl uent on passages that were culturally relevant. Comprehension and passage likability assessments favored the culturally relevant passages but were not statistically signifi cant. Findings are discussed relative to the benefi cial effects of culturally relevant materials for culturally diverse populations.