This Doctoral Dissertation project on the leadership styles of black congressmen deals with a topic of considerable interest and importance to scholars in political science. The project focuses on how leadership styles relate to changing district characteristics and the need to crate, maintain and satisfy biracial coalitions. At the core of this research is the attempt to enhance understanding of issues involving the formation and maintenance of biracial coalitions and minority representation. Employing a multiple methods research strategy, the investigator combines interviews, participant observation, and content analysis of secondary data sources. The objectives of the study are: to identify differences in black leadership styles, and the impact that these styles have in legislative and electoral arenas; to determine how these styles relate to changing district characteristics and the formation and maintenance of biracial coalitions; and, to describe how a subset of black congressmen view and present themselves to their constituencies at various times in their legislative careers. This study promises to increase our understanding of legislative behavior and leadership styles of legislators.
