Black underrepresentation in college enrollment and degree attainment can be seen as symptomatic of broad societal structures that have perpetuated inequality of socioeconomic and educational opportunity. This study examines a low-income black neighborhood to discover the extent to which blacks think of themselves as members of a subordinate caste and the effect of these feelings on their living and academic strategies. Among theories attempting to explain black underrepresentation in higher education, those centering on black culture, slavery and post-slavery experiences, and black family structure are reviewed and rejected. More appropriate is John Ogbu's caste system theory which holds that, being relegated to menial jobs and denied assimilation in American society, blacks have developed a folk theory and subsequent strategies for "getting ahead," which do not encourage perseverance in schooling. Residents of the Franklin Square neighborhood of Baltimore (Maryland) were studied to determine the applicability of Ogbu's theory. The study indicates that Franklin Square residents adopt alternative strategies for "making it" over traditional ones, and that an oppositional relationship to mainstream career paths and daily living patterns is strongly evidenced. In addition, clientship relationships reflect resident attitudes toward the system. Both coping and expressive responses of the Franklin Square community strongly confirm the minority caste thesis and underscore the limited value of traditional educational paths within this framework. The report includes four tables and a list of 95 references. (AF)