African American youth, although they comprise only 6% of the U.S. population, rank first for incarceration and homicide. In West Tennessee, the Juvenile Court of Memphis and Shelby County Report indicated that African American male youths were likely to become delinquent early in the second grade, were six times as likely to be referred on aggravated assault charges, and were taken into protective custody four times as often as their White counterparts. The project aimed to prevent the incidence of violence and other problem behaviors among at-risk African American male youths who resided in urban and rural West Tennessee by assisting them in developing positive self-esteem, teaching them decision-making and conflict resolution skills, and exposing them to their rich culture and heritage. Subjects were 127 African American male students in third through sixth grade from urban and rural public schools. The intervention consisted of decision-making skills training, conflict resolution training, and cultural awareness, all delivered during 48 weekly sessions. The primary findings from this investigation were the improvement in participants' concepts of their physical characteristics and strengthened ethnic identity. Challenges and implications for similar programming for "at risk" youth are discussed. (Contains 10 references.) (SLD)