A comparison of data from reputational studies of black community leadership in Providence, R. I., conducted in 1962, 1970, and 1972 revealed a high turnover in personnel, a decrease in average age, more local origin, more orientation to the black community, more employment in administrative positions related to race relations, more residence in the black working-class area, and a decline in community consensus as to reputed leadership. The implications of these findings for the structure and functioning of the black community and for the future of race relations are discussed in the context of the history of blacks in Providence together with data on changes in the demographic, ecological, and socioeconomic characteristics of the city and its black population during the past twenty years.