ABSTRACT
Sponsorship of the "right" people in promotions becomes a means that sponsors use to control their organization and its relation to the community. A system of selection impinges upon vital interests of the union leadership, as well as upon the different interests of the sponsored. The sponsorship is, in part, an anticipation or recognition of the power of Negroes as a group in the outcome of the conflict. Selection of Negroes for office has been discussed from the perspective of the sponsoring white leadership. From the point of view of the sponsored Negro, patterns of recruitment appear as career lines and contingencies. The symbolic leader is expected by the sponsors to win the support and confidence of Negro members for the union and/or a particular faction within the union. The liaison function of Negroes in official capacities means that they have an integrative role in the organization.
