With a decade-long stagnant 34% Black male college graduation rate, there was little understanding of how and why Black male initiatives, designed to improve Black male persistence and graduation in 4-year colleges, affected retention and graduation-related behaviors, as understood by the Black male participants in such initiatives. This interpretive description study explored Black male initiatives' influence on Black male persistence and graduation at an East Texas historically Black college. For continued accreditation, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges required management for each college to identify and address academic needs that improved student persistence and graduation. Cultural capital, social capital, and narratives were three essential critical race theory concepts that grounded this study. The questions guiding this research study solicited Black men's experiences, the emerged meanings, and how Black male college students perceived the initiative's effectiveness in improving their persistence and graduation at these East Texas historically Black colleges. Using a purposive sample, eight full-time Black male college students participated in interviews to explore the Black male students' experiences, meaning-making, and perceptions of effectiveness as they engaged in Black male initiatives. The experiential interview narratives showed how the initiatives' brotherhood and supportive community positively affected the Black men's current collegiate persistence and graduation prospects and had transformative lifetime implications, which may influence social change and promote entrepreneurial innovation, management opportunities, and strategic initiatives to support better Black men at colleges and universities nationwide. [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.]