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Shame, originating from social threats to social bonds, self-esteem and/or social status, has been associated with poor mental and physical outcomes. Despite theoretical assumptions indicating shame as a prominent emotional response to social threats, limited research has examined the association between internalized shame and racism among African American populations. This exploratory study sought to investigate the relationship between racism, self-esteem, and internalized shame. College students who self-identified as African American or Black (N = 203) completed the Schedule of Racist Events and Internalized Shame Scale. Past year and lifetime experiences of racism were positively associated with internalized shame. Self-esteem and internalized shame demonstrated a significant negative association. Two hierarchical linear regression models were used to examine the effect of the frequency of racist events in the past year, over the lifetime, and self-esteem on internalized shame scores. Both unadjusted models for past year and lifetime experiences of racism significantly predicted internalized shame. Adding self-esteem significantly improved the regression models accounting for 36% and 63% of the model variance for internalized shame, respectively. Findings from this study warrant greater focus on the role of shame and self-esteem in understanding the impact of racism among African Americans.