The use of interpretative phenomenological analysis served as a lens to direct the researcher in making meaning of the experiences of African American college presidents leading predominantly White institutions with race-conscious affirmative action policies in higher education. This study was a chronicle of the voices of African American college presidents as they negotiated legal ambiguities, polarized racial tensions, and the future of race-conscious affirmative action policies in the United States. The legal system began aiding in racially diversifying higher education with the infamous "Brown v. Board of Education" case (1954). Over the years have come additional policies in support of racial diversity, including affirmative action; however, as the U.S. political, legal, and socioeconomic pendulum continues to swing, there have been efforts to obstruct affirmative action. Despite several researchers having reviewed race-conscious affirmative action, none has looked at the intersectionality of race-conscious affirmative action with the role of the college president and African American racial identity. In discussing matters of identity, many presidents expressed an amalgamation of their identities impacted how they and campus constituents viewed their roles. Several participants mentioned not only the intersectionality of race, but also nationality, socioeconomic upbringing, gender, immigrant status, and other identities as factoring into their approach to fulfilling the role of president. A fundamental discovery of this study was that participants perceived multiple definitions of community, including the college community, the community surrounding the college, and the greater community of human beings. There was a connection between how a diverse population of college presidents can contribute to cultural diversity and the intersectionality with community engagement as citizenship. Additionally, presidents related understanding and encounters in their quest to welcome and retain a racially diverse student population. Identified themes included welcoming African American college presidents, providing support for campus racial diversity, utilizing code switching by presidents, preserving the future of affirmative action, and executing strategies to obtain racial diversity without affirmative action. [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.]