This study examined how African American women defined who they were in their respective college contexts, focusing on the roles of gender, race, and institutional type. A total of 20 women from a white coeducational institution, a predominantly white women's college, and a coeducational, historically black college participated in in-depth interviews. The results revealed that the participants believed that being an African American woman meant struggle, being an African American could be problematic, and being an African American meant being conscious of one's identity. Participants from the historically black college most often referred to the struggle of being an African American woman in the larger society, while participants at the predominantly white schools reflected on the issue of being a woman who is different from what the school environment considers "woman." Participants at the predominantly white schools spent much of their energy fighting race-based stereotypes and demanding to be identified, recognized, and respected for both their race and their gender. (Contains 40 references.) (MDM)