The study sought to investigate persisting African American female college students' means of coping. The study used the lens of Womanist Theory, which places the lived experiences of these students at the center of knowledge creation, thus removing their experiences from the margins of society. The study provided insight into the lives of current African American female college students at two institutions, a small liberal arts university located in the southeastern United States and a large, public university located in the western region of the United States. Specifically, the researcher examined: (a) the coping strategies that the students utilized to persist in higher education, (b) whether the students knowingly sacrificed aspects of their cultural, gendered, and racial selves to persist, and (c) why these female students chose to continue in higher education. Participants at both institutions identified the same three strategies as those most often used to manage negative situations. These coping strategies were: (a) choosing to discuss negative situations with friends, (b) a belief system that embraces a sense of optimism, and (c) spiritual grounding and action. The findings of this study have practical implications for anyone working with African American college women. The results of this study should be useful to administrators who design retention programs, to counselors who implement support or affinity groups, and to professors who create opportunities for knowledge acquisition. [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://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]