This research study investigates the effects cultural mentoring programs have on African American male college graduates. The objective of the holistic qualitative narrative research study was to understand how participants in the Southwest Youth Leadership Institute (SYLI) (pseudonym), understood their cultural mentoring experiences and describe in what ways SYLI helped them in their collegiate, professional, and personal lives. The study was based on a need to provide an equitable, relevant, and inclusive learning environment for African American male students enrolled in institutions of higher learning in the United States. The study's qualitative research was based on a purposeful sample of college graduates who also participated in the same focused cultural mentoring program located in a large metropolitan area in the southwest region of the United States. A holistic narrative is the design selected for this study with principles of grounded theory being applied. Aspects of Ladson-Billings Culturally Relevant Pedagogy (CRP) helped frame the analysis and findings of this research study with support from Culturally Responsive Teaching (CRT) and Cross-Cultural Learning (CCL) approaches. [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.]