This book fills an educational void in the school leadership literature as it relates to historical, theoretical, intellectual and cultural understandings among those who prepare individuals for leadership in schools and for those who practice leadership in schools attended by significant numbers of African American students. Contributors to this volume are scholars whose research and service in schools have been important in understanding the historical, intellectual and cultural traditions that facilitate and support effective leadership and in schools where African American school leaders, teachers, students, parents, and their communities of support construct effective and productive 'cultures of empowerment and achievement'.