This study of levels of self-esteem in a sample of black disadvantaged children was conducted to investigate factors known from other studies to facilitate the development and maintenance of a favorable self-concept despite adverse environmental conditions and skin color. The child subjects were selected from six classes of fifth grade black children in a de facto segregated section of Harrisburg. Self-concept was assessed by the Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale, which is a wide-range standardized instrument reflecting feelings about behavior, intellectual status, popularity, physical appearance and attributes, anxiety, and happiness. Teacher ratings were made using Coopersmith's Behavior Rating Form. The "high" group comprised 15 boys whose scores were 64 or above on the Piers-Harris, and in the highest quartile of their class on the teacher ratings. The "low" group comprised 15 boys whose scores were 48 or below on the Piers-Harris and in the lowest quartile of their class on teacher ratings. The "high" group had better peer relationships, better achievement test scores in some areas, and somewhat better mother-child relationships. Neither the boys nor their mothers in the "high" group displayed better acceptance of black identity. Since the mean self-concept levels of this population were at or above the means for white samples, it appears that the effects on self-esteem or minority race or low socioeconomic level are not inevitably negative, but depend to a considerable degree on aspects of the immediate social environment. (Author/JM)