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Eva Lewis
Eva Lewis
Eva Lewis
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Eva Maria Lewis[1] is an American activist From South Side, Chicago,[2] she has led a number of local protests, including the July 11, 2016 youth march on Millennium Park to protest police brutality. She has also founded two organizations, The I Project and Youth for Black Lives.

Key Information

Education

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Lewis is a graduate of Walter Payton College Prep, and a student at University of Pennsylvania.[3][4]

Community activism

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After the shooting of Trayvon Martin, Lewis protested for the first time, marching with her mother on Michigan Avenue (Chicago).[2] Lewis became further engaged while attending high school at Walter Payton College Prep, after attending primary school in the less-affluent, majority African American South Side.[5] In 2015, when she was a junior in high school, Lewis founded the non-profit The I Project. The I Project supports intersectional activism through art, with fundraising and community outreach.[6] Events have included a photo shoot for people of all sizes and shapes, with a discussion of culture and body image, and a screening of Beyoncé's Lemonade with inter-generational panel discussion.[5]

In 2016, Lewis joined three other black teen women activists to organize a youth sit-in in Chicago, to protest police shootings of people of color, particularly Alton Sterling and Philando Castile.[5] The organizers rallied young community members on social media, with a Facebook event and the hashtag #BLMCHIYouth. The four organizers led a crowd of over 1,000 (some sources say 2,000)[7][5] people in a peaceful sit-in in Millennium Park, and a march down Michigan Avenue and State Street (Chicago). There were no arrests, a symbolic victory because of the reputation of violence in Chicago, especially among youth of color, and a strained relationship between anti-racism activists and Chicago police.[8] Following the march, Lewis and the organizers started Youth for Black Lives (Y4BL) to activate youth voices against systemic oppression.[5] With Y4BL, Lewis organized a second march beginning in Millennium Park on August 7, 2016, to protest police brutality following the death of Paul O'Neal.[7] In November 2016, in response to a deadly shooting in Mount Greenwood, Chicago where Joshua Beal, 25, of Indianapolis brandished a gun and failed to drop it after being instructed by a police sergeant; and text messages sent among students of Marist High School (Chicago, Illinois),[9] Y4BL organized another march. However, Lewis and the organizers received threats on social media, and CPS leadership contacted the organizers parents, and the march was cancelled due to safety concerns.[10] Instead, Y4BL organized meetings with Chicago Police Department Superintendent Eddie T. Johnson. The first, held on November 11, 2016, included Johnson, the Chief of Patrol, the Alderman of Mt. Greenwood, and the principal of Marist High School. During the first and subsequent meetings, Lewis and the other Y4BL members questioned Johnson and discussed racism and policing in Mt. Greenwood and Chicago at large.[7][11]

United Nations

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Through her decade of involvement with the Girl Scouts of the USA, Lewis participated in the United Nations’ 60th Annual Commission on the Status of Women in New York in March 2016.[4] Lewis spoke at the UN again in October 2016 for the United Nations' International Day of the Girl Child, performing spoken word during the opening of the event; she also gave a speech during the proceedings.[12]

Teen Vogue

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Lewis contributed to Teen Vogue in 2016 and 2017, focusing on black women, intersectional feminism, and perceptions and approaches to handling violence in Chicago.[13] She addresses social justice, especially for people of color.[3]

Awards

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Publications and speeches

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References

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Eva Lewis

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from Grokipedia
''Eva Lewis'' is an American activist, community organizer, and social entrepreneur known for founding Free Root Operation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to interrupting cycles of poverty-induced gun violence and supporting Black and Brown communities in Chicago. Raised in Chicago's South Shore neighborhood amid systemic disinvestment and gun violence, Lewis began her advocacy work as a teenager, founding Free Root Operation while still in high school to address root causes of violence through community investment rather than punitive approaches. A 2021 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in sociology, Lewis has built Free Root Operation into a growing initiative that includes programs like the BLOOM cohort, which provides Black women—particularly single mothers—with resources for self-care, nourishment, goal-setting, and cultural experiences. She coined the term "poverty-induced gun violence" to highlight the distinct socioeconomic epidemic affecting Black communities across the United States. Her multifaceted approach incorporates artistic expression, oratory, and poetry as tools for social change, and she has spoken on global platforms including the United Nations. In 2021, Lewis received the Reebok Human Rights Award for her efforts to dismantle systemic racism and uphold human rights, using the recognition and funding to expand her organization's impact. She has also collaborated on community projects, such as honoring Breonna Taylor's legacy through public calls for humanity and empathy. Lewis continues to advocate for imagination, rest, and abundance in disenfranchised communities as essential elements of collective liberation.

Early life

Birth and background

Little is publicly known about the exact date or circumstances of Eva Maria Lewis's birth. She was raised by a single mother in Chicago's South Shore neighborhood, where she experienced systemic disinvestment and gun violence from a young age. From kindergarten onward, Lewis attended schools outside her neighborhood to access equitable education. She tested into Walter Payton College Prep, a selective high school on Chicago's North Side. The long commutes highlighted stark disparities in infrastructure, resources, and community conditions compared to her home neighborhood. Her activism began in high school, influenced by the 2012 killing of Trayvon Martin, which prompted her to attend her first protest and engage with coalitions like Youth for Black Lives. As a junior in high school, she founded Free Root Operation to address poverty-induced gun violence in Black and Brown communities through community investment rather than punitive measures. No acting career in film is documented for Eva Maria Lewis, the subject of this article. The original content in this section refers to a different individual also named Eva Lewis, a silent film actress born in 1881 and died in 1939, with roles in shorts like The Sheep Herder (1914), Where Are My Trousers? (1917), The Chosen Prince (1917), and an uncredited part in The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923). Eva Maria Lewis is an activist and organizer with no known credits or involvement in acting or cinema.

Personal life

Known personal details

Little publicly available information exists regarding Eva Lewis's private life. Details such as marriage, children, family relationships beyond her upbringing in Chicago's South Shore neighborhood, or other personal matters are not disclosed in reliable sources. No verified sources provide additional biographical details like physical attributes or extensive family background.

Death

As of 2025, Eva Lewis is alive and continues her activism and leadership as the founder and executive director of Free Root Operation. No information is available regarding her death.

Filmography

There are no known acting credits for Eva Lewis.
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