Women make up the majority of students enrolled in colleges and universities and positively contribute to higher education in various areas. However, despite their academic contributions, women remain underrepresented as critical decision-makers within higher education leadership. Fewer than half of the senior-level leaders in higher education are women compared to men, and even fewer are women of African descent compared to Caucasian women and black males. When an African American woman is appointed to senior leadership, the position is rarely at a predominantly white institution. When she is selected, the job is typically in student services or multicultural affairs, areas critical to the institution but areas that may not have the structural influence as does institutional development, business, and finance or as provost, positions that men typically occupy. African American [black] women leaders at predominantly white institutions have to maneuver not only stereotypes and biases based on sex but race as well. The purpose of this chapter is to review the literature regarding African American women in higher education at predominantly white institutions in the United States. The research, however, focuses specifically on African American women currently or previously in senior leadership at predominantly white institutions in higher education. The literature associated with the topic is significant to the study because it not only acknowledges scholarship around the African American woman's journey but also presents the information available regarding the effect stereotypes, microaggressions, and implicit biases have on the African American woman. The literature will also illustrate some strategies African American women adopt to maintain positive professional persistence while in senior leadership. The problem to be addressed is the phenomenon of African American women in higher education senior leadership who, in their attained positions, continually experience instances of intolerance affecting their professional persistence. As the needs of students and the investment in cultural capital expands to reflect the current population, providing the collegiate environment with a culturally diverse administration could catalyze a revolutionary change in an educational system that maintains institutional traditions that are not advantageous toward progression. [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.]