African American male enrollment in higher education has been declining for decades and African American male completion rates in higher education continue to demonstrate wide disparities. Explanations for these statistics are too often framed through deficit lenses that reinforce negative stereotypes about the motivations and capabilities of African American males. Taking up calls to focus research on African American men who have been successful in higher education, this study sought to better understand the experiences of alumni from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in the Atlanta area in selecting and successfully completing their bachelor's degrees. HBCUs, originally designed for the education of freed slaves, continue to educate a significant percentage of African American male collegians. The following research questions guided the study: (1) Which academic and social factors influenced African American male alumni's selection of an HBCU? (2) How did Black male alumni of HBCUs navigate their undergraduate experiences? (3) How have Black male alumni of HBCUs come to define academic success? (4) How has the HBCU experience affected African American male alumni's present-day lives? The study was informed by African American Male Theory which explicitly recognizes the distinctiveness of being Black and male, acknowledges the resilience and resistance of African American males, and seeks social justice. The researcher administered a demographic questionnaire, conducted semi-structured interviews, and collected artifacts from ten participants. Additionally, the researcher kept a researcher's journal to bracket bias and to capture field notes to augment the interview data. The researcher coded the data and identified three major themes and six subthemes. Based on the themes and subthemes, the researcher produced four results: 1) early exposure to HBCUs from family, mentors, and community members was pivotal to the selection of HBCUs by African American male students seeking higher education; 2) the exposure to HBCUs in television/movies, specifically the works of "The Cosby Show" and "A Different World," played a major role in African American males' decisions to applying to and attend Atlanta University Center institutions; 3) the familial and caring culture of HBCUs is instrumental for academic success; and 4) the overall success of African American male HBCU alumni was not defined solely by material gain. The findings and results informed recommendations for practice and for future research. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]