African American elementary school principals in an urban. district we
re interviewed about the impact of their race and gender statuses on.
their views of themselves in their administrative roles. The data were
examined within the historical framework of roles African American pr
incipals have played, and the contemporary social conditions under whi
ch they work Race and gender statuses were Important in shaping these
principals' social constructions of their roles as administrators and
their views of their mission vis-ir-vis their students. Furthermore, r
ace and gender were integrated in these respondents' self-perceptions.
The responses obtained In this study were related to historical accou
nts of African American administrators and illustrated similarities in
role perceptions across time and the necessity to respond to contempo
rary urban contexts.