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Since its inception, the United States has struggled with its responsibility for educating African American students. Its history of denial and discrimination in the education of Black children has created a national crisis in which academic difficulty and school failure is disproportionately high. In an effort to improve the education of African American students, mounting evidence suggests that cultural aspects of students' learning styles can impact achievement levels in classrooms. One cultural aspect that was highlighted by Boykin in the 1980s and is gaining renewed attention is verve. By definition, verve is the propensity for energetic, intense, stylistic body language and expression (Boykin, 1983). According to Boykin (1977, 1983, 2001), verve is a definite component of learning style for African American children. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between verve and the academic achievement levels of selected African American middle-school students in reading and mathematics in an urban setting. This study was designed to answer the following research questions: (1) Were verve levels different between African American and European American students?; (2) Were verve levels different among males and females?; and (3) Was there a relationship between verve and the academic achievement of African American students in reading and mathematics? To focus on verve does not diminish the importance of other aspects of the schooling experience. Certainly, macro systems (i.e., resources, tracking programs, and curricula), as well as micro systems (i.e., instruction and teacher interactions) are pertinent. However, with the increasing emphasis on culture and culturally responsive teaching and pedagogy, there is great value in understanding more about verve and the academic achievement of African American students. (Contains 2 tables.)