The HistoryMakers Video Oral History with Elma Lewis

  1. Resources
  2. View Resource

OralHistoryResource

The HistoryMakers Video Oral History with Elma Lewis

4/10/2003

https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/A2003.071

Theater chief executive Elma Lewis (1921 - 2004 ) founded the Elma Lewis School of Fine Arts to meet the cultural and artistic needs of the African American community in Boston. Lewis also founded Playhouse in the Park, a summer theater program that featured performers such as Duke Ellington and the National Center of Afro-American Artists, an umbrella organization that included the school, jazz and classical orchestras, a chorus, a dance troupe and a museum. Lewis was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on 4/10/2003, in Boston, Massachusetts. This collection is comprised of the video footage of the interview.

Total Sessions: 1; Total Tapes: 5; Total Run Time: 01h 52m 55s

The HistoryMakers

Information

SNAC Resource ID: 11634682

The HistoryMakers

Related Entities

There are 1 Entities related to this resource.

Lewis, Elma

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6fn3xpp (person)

Elma Lewis, arts educator, was born on September 15, 1921 in Boston Mass. Her parents, Clairmont and Edwardine Lewis, emigrated from the West Indies and both were followers of Marcus Garvey, founder of the Universal Negro Improvement Association. As the founder of the Elma Lewis School of Fine Arts in 1950, she taught dance, drama, and speech therapy. In 1968 she founded the National Center of African-American Artists and the Museum of the National Center of Afro-American Artists in 1969, bringi...