| This research is a phenomenological historical case study of Gade Bryant. Bryant was a first generation emancipated African-American leader who was able to successfully transcend crucibles of the Jim Crow era resulting in justice and transformational change to disenfranchised individuals in a North Carolina community. The research process included interviews with individuals who personally knew Bryant and archival research to contextualize the timeframe in which his leader role evolved.;The study answers questions through the use of Spiral Dynamics Integral Theory (Graves, 1970), where the questions were: •How did a first generation "free" African-American transcend 'crucible' systems of structural inequality? •What characteristics and other influences enabled Bryant to break free of systemic poverty during the Jim Crow era and create a level of economic independence through wealth accumulation to affect change for others in his community? •What ways did Bryant effectively evolve into a transcendent leader? •Were there key demonstrated themes that were constants for Bryant's transcendent leadership across government, educational, business and family spheres? In the study, several principled themes emerged that depicted characteristics of his leadership abilities. Three themes (collaboration, strategic entrepreneurial philanthropy, adaptive values) were present in each sphere studied: government, business, family and education. These spheres were not exclusively the environments wherein his leader role evolved, but proved sufficient for the scope of this study.;The study not only provides evidence that Bryant was successful in transcending to the SDi second tier as outlined by Beck & Cowan, (1996) but additionally shares new knowledge in how disenfranchised groups can and did exhibit and provide leadership in the shaping of American society. Their effective leadership was accomplished through the support of those within the areas they influenced, which included diverse groups across the social strata. He displayed an ability to successfully understand systemic influences and manage within, through and around designed 'crucible' constraints of oppression. Bryant was able to observe models, determine what made them effective and apply strategies to eliminate or effectively overcome crucibles/barriers to realize desired outcomes.;Key words: Leader, leadership, crucible, Jim Crow, oppression, systems, Spiral Dynamics Integral. |
