Ida E. Lewis
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Ida Elizabeth Lewis (born September 22, 1934) is a Black American journalist and teacher. She was editor-in-chief of the magazines ''
Essence Essence () has various meanings and uses for different thinkers and in different contexts. It is used in philosophy and theology as a designation for the property (philosophy), property or set of properties or attributes that make an entity the ...
'' and ''
The Crisis ''The Crisis'' is the official magazine of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). It was founded in 1910 by W. E. B. Du Bois (editor), Oswald Garrison Villard, J. Max Barber, Charles Edward Russell, Kelly M ...
'', and founder of ''
Encore An encore is an additional performance given by performers at the conclusion of a show or concert, usually in response to extended applause from the audience.Lalange Cochrane, in ''Oxford Companion to Music'', Alison Latham, ed., Oxford Universi ...
''.


Career

Lewis began her career in 1957 as a reporter for the ''
Amsterdam News The ''Amsterdam News'' (also known as ''New York Amsterdam News'') is a weekly Black-owned newspaper serving New York City. It is one of the oldest newspapers geared toward African Americans in the United States and has published columns by s ...
'' and then for ''
The New York Age ''The New York Age'' was an American weekly newspaper established in 1887 in New York City. It was widely considered one of the most prominent African-American newspapers of its time.
''. From 1963 to 1969 she lived in Paris, where she wrote for ''
Le Monde (; ) is a mass media in France, French daily afternoon list of newspapers in France, newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average print circulation, circulation of 480,000 copies per issue in 2022, including ...
'', ''
Le Figaro Magazine ''Le Figaro Magazine'' is a French language weekly news magazine published in Paris, France. The magazine is the weekly supplement of the daily newspaper and has been in circulation since 1978. History The magazine is the first supplement of ...
'', ''
Life Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...
'' and ''
Jeune Afrique ''Jeune Afrique'' (English: ''Young Africa'') is a French-language pan-African weekly news magazine, founded in 1960 in Tunis and subsequently published in Paris by Jeune Afrique Media Group. It is the most widely read pan-African magazine. It o ...
''. She conducted interviews for the
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. Her first essay collection, ''The Deep Ditch and The Narrow Pit'', was published in 1964. She moved back to the US in 1969, where she was a correspondent for ''
Jeune Afrique ''Jeune Afrique'' (English: ''Young Africa'') is a French-language pan-African weekly news magazine, founded in 1960 in Tunis and subsequently published in Paris by Jeune Afrique Media Group. It is the most widely read pan-African magazine. It o ...
''. In 1970 she was named editor-in-chief of ''
Essence magazine ''Essence'' (stylized in all caps) is an American monthly lifestyle magazine covering fashion, beauty, entertainment, and culture. First published in 1970, the magazine is written for African-American women. History Edward Lewis, Clarence O ...
'', but she left the next year to start ''
Encore An encore is an additional performance given by performers at the conclusion of a show or concert, usually in response to extended applause from the audience.Lalange Cochrane, in ''Oxford Companion to Music'', Alison Latham, ed., Oxford Universi ...
''. She was the first black woman to launch a national publication. In 1979, Lewis joined the faculty of
Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
's Graduate School of Journalism. During the 1980s she worked as a
political consultant Political consulting is a form of consulting that consists primarily of advising and assisting political campaigns. Although the most important role of political consultants is arguably the development and production of mass media (largely televi ...
and
press Press may refer to: Media * Publisher * News media * Printing press, commonly called "the press" * Press TV, an Iranian television network Newspapers United States * ''The Press'', a former name of ''The Press-Enterprise'', Riverside, California ...
agent; her clients included
Ross Perot Henry Ross Perot ( ; June 27, 1930 – July 9, 2019) was an American businessman, politician, and philanthropist. He was the founder and chief executive officer of Electronic Data Systems and Perot Systems. He ran an Independent politician ...
,
Abraham Hirschfeld Abraham Jacob Hirschfeld (December 20, 1919 – August 9, 2005) was an American real estate investor, Broadway producer and political candidate from New York City. He was the owner of several buildings in Manhattan. He served as treasurer for the ...
and
Adam Clayton Powell IV Adam Clayton "A.C." Powell IV (born Adam Clayton Powell Diago;
Andy Newman. The New York Times. April 14, 2010. Retrieved July ...
. In 1998 Lewis became editor-in-chief of the NAACP's ''
The Crisis ''The Crisis'' is the official magazine of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). It was founded in 1910 by W. E. B. Du Bois (editor), Oswald Garrison Villard, J. Max Barber, Charles Edward Russell, Kelly M ...
'' magazine. She was an
adjunct professor An adjunct professor is a type of academic appointment in higher education who does not work at the establishment full-time. The terms of this appointment and the job security of the tenure vary in different parts of the world, but the term is gen ...
of journalism at
Boston University College of Communication __NOTOC__ The Boston University College of Communication (COM) is the communication school of Boston University (BU), a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1947, it was the first university in the United States to of ...
and was a member of the Dean's Executive Advisory Board, the Alumni Council, and the College of Communication's National Alumni Committee. She established the Ida E. Lewis Scholarship Fund to support minority students in journalism.


Awards and recognition

Lewis received the Award for Excellence in Journalism from the
Association for the Study of African American Life and History The Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) is a learned society dedicated to the study and appreciation of African-American History. The association was founded in Chicago on September 9, 1915, during the Natio ...
, and the Woman of Distinction Award from
Kingsborough Community College Kingsborough Community College (KCC) is a public community college in Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn, New York. It is part of the City University of New York (CUNY) system and the only community college in Brooklyn. History Founded in 1963, Kingsb ...
at the
City University of New York The City University of New York (CUNY, pronounced , ) is the Public university, public university system of Education in New York City, New York City. It is the largest urban university system in the United States, comprising 25 campuses: eleven ...
.


References


External links


"Ida Lewis, Encore, First Black News Publication"
''San Francisco News'', 2019 {{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Ida E. Writers from Pennsylvania American magazine editors 20th-century American women journalists African-American journalists 20th-century American journalists 1934 births Living people 20th-century African-American women writers 20th-century American women writers 20th-century African-American writers 21st-century African-American writers 21st-century African-American women writers 21st-century American women writers