Black Leadership in America

President of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies Eddie Williams defined a leader as someone who advocated certain positions and was able to create a following to advance these positions. Historically, black leadership has been associated with the civil rights movement to allow African-American participation in the mainstream of American life. They said that white leadership is taken for granted or implicit, so the term leadership is more associated with minority groups because they have to create a role that is not assumed of their position. Juan Williams of The Washington Post said that the key African-American issues requiring leadership are poverty, education, and community support. close