Lewis, Elma (1921–2004)
Lewis, Elma (1921–2004)
African-American choreographer, arts administrator and educator. Born Sept 16, 1921, in Roxbury, MA; died Jan 1, 2004, in Roxbury; dau. of West Indies immigrants, Edwardine Jordan Corbin Lewis (maid) and Clairmont Richard McDonald Lewis (day laborer); Emerson College, BA, Literature Interpretation, 1943; Boston University School of Education, MA, 1944.
Was a fine-arts worker at Harriet Tubman House in Boston's South End; directed and choreographed 21 operas and operettas for Robert Gould Shaw House Chorus (1946–68); founded Elma Lewis School of Fine Arts in Roxbury (1950); was founder and director of National Center of Afro-American Artists (1968); promoted work of black artists, attracting national attention throughout 1990s; directed annual production of Langston Hughes' Black Nativity, with a cast of 150, until she was nearly 80. Was one of the 1st recipients of the MacArthur Foundation Fellowships (1981); received more than 100 citations and awards, including the Mayor's Citation from City of Boston (1970), Henry O. Tanner Award from Black Arts Council of California (1971) and Presidential Medal for the Arts (1983); also had more than 26 honorary degrees bestowed on her.
See also Women in World History.