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Elma Lewis
Elma Ina Lewis (September 15, 1921 – January 1, 2004) was an American arts educator and the founder of The Elma Lewis School of Fine Arts and the National Center of Afro-American Artists. In 1981 she was one of the first recipients of the newly organized MacArthur Fellows Grant, in 1981, and in 1983 was awarded a Presidential Medal for the Arts by President Ronald Reagan. She is also an honorary member of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.
Lewis was born September 15, 1921, in Boston to parents Clairmont and Edwardine Lewis; they had immigrated to the United States from Barbados. Lewis had two older brothers, Darnley and George, from her mother's previous marriage. She attended the Ruggles Street Nursery School in 1924. The mother and daughter were told the girl's IQ was higher than it would be when she grew older. That memory stayed with Lewis and would eventually prompt her to start her own school later on.[citation needed]
Her parents were followers of Jamaican activist Marcus Garvey, who had immigrated to the US. Lewis ascribed to his ideas the basis of her racial pride and desire to promote African culture. Lewis attended Roxbury Memorial High School for Girls, where she studied voice, piano, and dance. Her first dance teacher was Doris Jones of the Jones-Haywood School of Ballet in Roxbury.
She worked her way through college by acting in local theatre productions, and graduated from Emerson College (B.L.I., 1943). She completed her Master's in Education at Boston University School of Education in 1944.
After graduating from Boston University, Lewis taught speech therapy at Massachusetts Mental Health Center, the New England Hospital, and the Habit Clinic of Boston. She also taught dance and drama at the Cambridge Community Center and fine arts at the Harriet Tubman House.
At age 23, Lewis and her parents moved from Dudley Street in Roxbury to a house on Homestead Street, where she lived until her death. In 1951 Lewis's mother Edwardine died. Her brother Darnley moved into the downstairs section of the house with his wife and kids.
In 1950 Lewis founded The Elma Lewis School of Fine Arts to provide arts education for the African-American community in Boston: it was to offer a comprehensive program across the visual and performing arts. The teaching program at the school was focused on building character and providing multidisciplinary arts instruction through performance and exhibitions. Her school attracted many top professionals in the fine arts as teachers, resulting in a very rigorous program. At its peak, the school enrolled 700 students and employed 100 teachers. Many of the school's graduates went on to successful careers in entertainment.
Many attribute the notoriety of Lewis's school to the political culture of the time. Boston experienced a social crisis in the mid-1970s after court-ordered desegregation of schools. Due to financial problems, enrollment in the school begin to dwindle. After years of battling financial crisis and owing back taxes, the school lost its property in 1997 through foreclosure.
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Elma Lewis
Elma Ina Lewis (September 15, 1921 – January 1, 2004) was an American arts educator and the founder of The Elma Lewis School of Fine Arts and the National Center of Afro-American Artists. In 1981 she was one of the first recipients of the newly organized MacArthur Fellows Grant, in 1981, and in 1983 was awarded a Presidential Medal for the Arts by President Ronald Reagan. She is also an honorary member of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.
Lewis was born September 15, 1921, in Boston to parents Clairmont and Edwardine Lewis; they had immigrated to the United States from Barbados. Lewis had two older brothers, Darnley and George, from her mother's previous marriage. She attended the Ruggles Street Nursery School in 1924. The mother and daughter were told the girl's IQ was higher than it would be when she grew older. That memory stayed with Lewis and would eventually prompt her to start her own school later on.[citation needed]
Her parents were followers of Jamaican activist Marcus Garvey, who had immigrated to the US. Lewis ascribed to his ideas the basis of her racial pride and desire to promote African culture. Lewis attended Roxbury Memorial High School for Girls, where she studied voice, piano, and dance. Her first dance teacher was Doris Jones of the Jones-Haywood School of Ballet in Roxbury.
She worked her way through college by acting in local theatre productions, and graduated from Emerson College (B.L.I., 1943). She completed her Master's in Education at Boston University School of Education in 1944.
After graduating from Boston University, Lewis taught speech therapy at Massachusetts Mental Health Center, the New England Hospital, and the Habit Clinic of Boston. She also taught dance and drama at the Cambridge Community Center and fine arts at the Harriet Tubman House.
At age 23, Lewis and her parents moved from Dudley Street in Roxbury to a house on Homestead Street, where she lived until her death. In 1951 Lewis's mother Edwardine died. Her brother Darnley moved into the downstairs section of the house with his wife and kids.
In 1950 Lewis founded The Elma Lewis School of Fine Arts to provide arts education for the African-American community in Boston: it was to offer a comprehensive program across the visual and performing arts. The teaching program at the school was focused on building character and providing multidisciplinary arts instruction through performance and exhibitions. Her school attracted many top professionals in the fine arts as teachers, resulting in a very rigorous program. At its peak, the school enrolled 700 students and employed 100 teachers. Many of the school's graduates went on to successful careers in entertainment.
Many attribute the notoriety of Lewis's school to the political culture of the time. Boston experienced a social crisis in the mid-1970s after court-ordered desegregation of schools. Due to financial problems, enrollment in the school begin to dwindle. After years of battling financial crisis and owing back taxes, the school lost its property in 1997 through foreclosure.