27 Copyright © 2021, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. Chapter 3 DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-4093-0.ch003 ABSTRACT This chapter is a critical analysis using African American Male Theory (AAMT) to examine and critique the status of the African American male with an emotional disturbance in the American education com- plex. This chapter expands upon AAMT by applying a critical lens to various AAMT tenants. A vignette of Ahmad, a young African American male, shows the injustice endured by many African American male students. A review of literature on the mental health of African American students and equity in education provides for a rich discourse. This chapter also provides implications for further discussion and recommendations for practitioners. INTRODUCTION The plight of the African American student has been one of oppression since the inception of the United States, and the transatlantic slave trade stole millions of Africans from their homes and forced them into centuries of bondage. That bondage has transcended society through oppressive policies, beliefs, and pedagogies. In a time when African American male student’s mere existence is criminalized, fetishized, and their culture paradoxically exploited and hated, this paper aims to address the plight of the African American male with an emotional disturbance in the American education complex. Utilizing African American Male Theory (Bush & Bush, 2013), this chapter explores the juxtaposition of being Black with a mental illness in the American educational complex and its impact on the identification, supports, and outcomes of African American males with an Emotional disturbance. I Can’t Breathe: The African American Male With Emotional Disabilities in Education Richard D. Williams https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7966-6854 Capella University, USA April J. Lisbon Spotsylvania County Public Schools, USA