The New Urban Leaders.

by Joyce A. Ladner, Brookings Institution Press, October 2001 $22.95, ISBN 0-815-75108-7*

In The New Urban Leaders, author and senior fellow in the Washington D.C.-based Brookings Governmental Studies program, Joyce A. Ladner offers a look into the legacy of urban America, and the leaders that have been pioneers for the disenfranchised populations that reside therein.

While the book is entitled The New Urban Leaders, a good portion of it focuses on the politics and policies laid down as a result of the Civil Rights movement, as well as the "War on Poverty" initiatives set forth during Lyndon Johnson's administration.

Ladner proposes that while these initiatives--including such programs as Head Start and Job Corps--raised national awareness of the racial disparities and prejudices that permeated American society, the burden has since fallen upon community and faith-based organizations, such as the NAACP and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), to fill in the gaps left by the federal government.

The new urban leaders that Ladner highlights are primarily African-American men who have become mentors to "disenfranchised" inner-city youth, many of whom have chosen to work within the various government organizations to institute changes designed to close the gap between the "haves" and "have-nots."

The New Urban Leaders is a good, quick study of the federal policies and subsequent disenfranchisement of the African-American community. Ladner, a former interim president of Howard University, presents a brief yet thorough roadmap of leadership and mentoring in the African-American community, suggesting that in order for leaders to emerge from African-American communities, the commitment of time and mentorship must be made by as many as possible.

--Michaelyn Elder is a freelance writer living in Harlem.