Data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten cohort (ECLS-K) were used to examine the relationship between cultural capital transmission and reading achievement within a nationally representative sample of 5th grade African American males. Logistic regression techniques were used to examine several differences between high- and low-achieving African American male students. Regression analyses controlling for 3rd grade achievement, family structure, socioeconomic status, and parent involvement. The findings indicated that parent supervised artistic activities were related to positive academic development, whereas artistic activities supervised by other adults were not. Implications are discussed in terms or increasing the reading achievement levels of African American males. (Contains 3 tables.)