Sometimes literature appears that a social studies teacher can use to create lesson plans for concepts that are difficult for students to master. This article is about such literature and how using it has resulted in students understanding and incorporating one of the most difficult lessons to absorb--leadership. In this article, the authors decided to illuminate the attributes of good leadership by immersing students in readings that, although controversial and hard to teach, ultimately bring historical African American leadership to life. They used "The Rise and Fall of Modern Black Leadership," by H. Viscount "Berky" Nelson (2003), and "Martin and Malcolm and America: A Dream or Nightmare," by James H. Cone (1998), both of which take a unique stand on African American leadership. They found that by using these African American leaders, they were able to examine leadership qualities for all groups of people. This article briefly examines the main ideas within these two books, and then shows teachers how to incorporate them into their curriculum. (Contains 4 tables.)