Lead the Way: Principles and Practices in Community and Civic Engagement

Lead the Way: Principles and Practices in Community and Civic Engagement provides readers with an enhanced understanding of the depth and breadth of approaches, activities, and processes related to leadership and community and civic engagement.

The book approaches leadership and engagement from three different perspectives: conceptual and historical; challenges and opportunities; and community and civic engagement in action. Part I presents a multidimensional and multifaceted framework for understanding and thinking about community engagement; a comprehensive analysis of fusion reconstruction and social and political activism in the 21st-century South; and a brief history of African American leadership typologies. Part II covers community challenges, including health equity and disaster/risks in communities, as well as opportunities available through capacity building, leadership, and community-based research and spiritual capital. Part III covers readiness and preparedness, the effect of students and universities in the engagement process, Latino and American Indian perspectives on leadership and engagement, the role of Black elected officials and their civic responsibility, community re-investment, and more.

Lead the Way is ideal for leadership courses and programs, as well as community organizations seeking to improve their engagement practices.

Forrest D. Toms earned his Ph.D. in developmental psychology at Howard University. He is a senior consultant with One Step at a Time Consulting, an interdisciplinary firm focusing on training, services, and product development. Recently, Dr. Toms served as the interim executive director for the NCNAACP and an associate professor in the Leadership Studies Doctoral Program at North Carolina A&T University.

Sylvia Willie Burgess holds a Ph.D. in leadership studies from North Carolina A&T University, where she served as an adjunct assistant professor. Dr. Burgess is the vice president of operations and senior partner with One Step at a Time Consulting, where her focus is on leadership, diversity and inclusion, and community engagement.