African Americans are underrepresented in Gifted and Talented Education programs (Ford, 1995). Gifted and Talented Education was created to address the needs of exceptional children, but educators have disproportionately identified and enrolled African American students at a lower rate as compared to their counterparts (Ford, 1995). Teachers' perceptions of gifted students' personal and academic progress impact identification, selection, retention, and student performance. The purpose of this case study was to examine the impact of teachers' perceptions on the assignment of African Americans to gifted education programs. In this qualitative study, middle school teachers were interviewed to investigate teachers' perceptions of the gifted and talented selection process, specifically pertaining to African American students. In addition, the intent was to explore teachers' perceptions of the impact of race pertaining to the underrepresentation of African American students in gifted education programs. Hopefully, this will lead to resolutions for increasing the representation of African Americans in gifted education programs. [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.]