This article provides a synthesis that delineates the scope and context that give meaning, purpose, and setting to the exercise of effective educational leadership and to the attainment of meaningful student achievement within schools that serve large numbers of African American students. Historical, theoretical, and empirical frames of inquiry provide the background for understanding good leadership and leadership practices that address the learning needs of African American students. Understanding the interconnectedness of good leadership and cultural practices that support and sustain African American student achievement are to be found through an awareness of the unique framework of cultural uplift and interpersonal and institutional caring, hallmarks that have characterized effective school leadership and student achievement in African American learning communities.
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