This doctoral dissertation is a qualitative comparative case study about Black student responses to diversity-related print and web material at one Canadian and one American university. The research methodologies used in this study included: 1) a critical discourse analysis of diversity-related media and policy documents and 2) a thematic narrative analysis of in-depth interviews. A cross-sectional sample of forty-two students were selected for in-depth interviews between both universities. A sample of twelve Diversity administrators were also interviewed for the study. The central research question asked how Black students articulated their experiences in response to diversity-related media within their universities. This study drew on several overlapping theoretical frameworks. These theoretical frameworks included color-blind racism (Bonilla-Silva, 2014), critical discourse analysis (Fairclough, 1995), institutional diversity and language (Ahmed, 2012), and lastly I considered the agency of the students as demonstrated through their use of counter-hegemonic discourses. The main findings from the textual and visual analysis of media was that both universities conceptualized diversity as differences in visible social identities. The institutional emphasis was on the diversity of the student population and managerial diversity discourses were fully integrated in brochures, web sites, and policy statements. Students in Canada and the U.S. generally reported similar experiences. Most students observed contradictions between their experiences and the institutional diversity discourses. Diversity administrators felt silenced and disillusioned by the lack of change that they were able to effect. This study connects diversity policies and practices in higher education. The findings also illuminate some of the tensions and current challenges about race and higher education.