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Black males are over‐represented in the juvenile justice system. With the exception of a few recent studies, most investigations to determine why such over‐representation exists have used retrospective data from existing records, conceptualized their research as a series of separate juvenile justice decisions, and employed bivariate and zero‐order correlation techniques. This paper presents the results of a prospective study designed to determine why disproportionately more black than white males are represented in Georgia's juvenile justice system. Youth from eight communities were tracked through four decision points: police apprehension, and juvenile court intake, adjudication, and disposition. The study examines the direct and indirect effects of race on decision making. Multivariate analysis methods allowed specification of results for each separate decision point as well as the cumulative effects of race across decision points.