Systemic racism in higher education has become a topic that has received a great deal of attention in the midst of social injustice in this country, it is because of the unjust experiences that African American people have faced throughout history that a boiling point was reached. The result of this is displayed by the different ways people have expressed their support for social justice. An increase in enrollment at HBCUs has occurred due to more social justice awareness. Across the country, African American students are making decisions to choose HBCUs over PWIs. Systemic racism and other factors continue to influence enrollment at HBCUs and PWIs. This non-experimental, comparative case study analysis explored systemic racism as an element of African American Students' decision-making while choosing a Historically Black College and Universities over a Predominately White Institution. Three case studies were purposefully selected to serve as the data for this study. The analysis was completed utilizing Atlas.ti 9 and four themes were discovered. The themes are 1) Systemic Racism in Higher Education, 2) African American Students Decision Making, 3) Experiences of African American Students in HBCUs and PWIs, and 4) Minority Students stress, and anxiety in HBCUs and PWIs represent factors that contribute to African Americans choosing to attend a Historical Black College and University over a Predominately White Institution of higher education. The author concludes by recommending a targeted recruitment and enrollment management plan which will assist educational leaders at HBCUs and other institutions in attracting African American students. The recruitment strategies targeting African American students include 1) Creating a special recruitment day to improve faculty support for African American students, 2) Highlighting cultural support programming and activities, and 3) developing and advertising a campus environment that is inviting and inclusive. [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.]