Eva Maria Lewis is an American activist. From South Side, Chicago, she has led a number of local protests, including the July 11, 2016 youth march on

Millennium Park Millennium Park is a public park located in the Loop community area of Chicago, operated by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs. The park, opened in 2004 and intended to celebrate the third millennium, is a prominent civic center nea ...

to protest police brutality. She has also founded two organizations, ''The I Project'' and ''Youth for Black Lives.''

Education

Lewis is a graduate of

Walter Payton College Prep Walter Payton College Preparatory High School (WPCP) is a public 4–year magnet high school located in the Old Town neighborhood on the near-north side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Opened in 2000, Payton is operated by the Chicago Public ...

, and a student at

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

Community activism

After the shooting of

Trayvon Martin Trayvon Benjamin Martin (February 5, 1995 – February 26, 2012) was a 17-year-old African-American from Miami Gardens, Florida, who was fatally shot in Sanford, Florida, by George Zimmerman, a 28-year-old Hispanic American. Martin had accompa ...

, Lewis protested for the first time, marching with her mother on

Michigan Avenue (Chicago) Michigan Avenue is a north-south street in Chicago which runs at 100 east on the Chicago grid. The northern end of the street is at Lake Shore Drive on the shore of Lake Michigan in the Gold Coast Historic District. The street's southern termi ...

. Lewis became further engaged while attending high school at Walter Payton College Prep, after attending primary school in the less-affluent, majority

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

South Side. 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. 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 Lemonade is a sweetened lemon-flavored beverage. There are varieties of lemonade found throughout the world. In North America and South Asia, cloudy still lemonade is the most common variety. There it is traditionally a homemade drink using ...

with inter-generational panel discussion. 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 On July 5, 2016, Alton Sterling, a 37-year-old black man, was shot and killed by two Baton Rouge Police Department officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The officers, who were attempting to control Sterling's arms, shot Sterling while Sterling al ...

and Philando Castile. The organizers rallied young community members on

social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...

, with a

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Mosk ...

event and the hashtag #BLMCHIYouth. The four organizers led a crowd of over 1,000 (some sources say 2,000) 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. Following the march, Lewis and the organizers started Youth for Black Lives (Y4BL) to activate youth voices against systemic oppression. 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. In November 2016, in response to a deadly shooting in

Mount Greenwood, Chicago Mount Greenwood is one of the 77 community areas in Chicago. The 74th numbered area, it is about southwest of the Loop. It is surrounded by the neighborhoods of Beverly and Morgan Park to the east, the suburb of Evergreen Park to the north, ...

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) Marist High School is a private Catholic preparatory high school located in the Mount Greenwood neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois, operated by the Marist Brothers on behalf of the Archdiocese of Chicago. Founded in 1963 as an all-male institution ...

, 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. 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.

United Nations

Through her decade of involvement with the Girl Scouts of the USA, Lewis participated in the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

’ 60th Annual

Commission on the Status of Women The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW or UNCSW) is a functional commission of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), one of the main UN organs within the United Nations. CSW has been described as the UN organ promoting gend ...

in New York in March 2016. Lewis spoke at the UN again in October 2016 for the United Nations'

International Day of the Girl Child International Day of the Girl Child is an international observance day declared by the United Nations; it is also called the Day of Girls and the International Day of the Girl. October 11, 2012, was the first Day of the Girl Child. The observatio ...

, performing

spoken word Spoken word refers to an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a late 20th century continuation of an ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetics of ...

during the opening of the event; she also gave a speech during the proceedings.

''Teen Vogue''

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

Awards

* Pioneer Award,

Chicago Foundation for Women Chicago Foundation for Women (CFW) is a nonprofit grantmaking organization that focuses on creating opportunities and resources for women in the Chicago area. Many Chicago based organizations such as South Side Giving Circle and LBTQ Giving Coun ...

, March 2017 *

Princeton Prize in Race Relations An awards program sponsored by Princeton University and principally undertaken by its alumni, the Princeton Prize in Race Relations (PPRR) honors high school age students who have done notable work in advancing the cause of race relations. The missi ...

, April 2017 * Rising Star award,

DuSable Museum of African American History The DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center, formerly the DuSable Museum of African American History, is a museum in Chicago that is dedicated to the study and conservation of African-American history, culture, and art. It was founded i ...

, June 2017

Publications and speeches

Eva Lewis articles on Teen Vogue website

Eva Lewis Opening Performance, U.N. International Day of the Girl Child, 2016

Eva Lewis Speech, U.N. International Day of the Girl Child, 2016

Chicago: A Land of Wilderness and Oasis , Eva Lewis , TEDxTeen

References

External links

The I Project website

Press release on July 11, 2016 youth march on Millennium Park

Youth for Black Lives

Garcia, Tess, "Young Feminists are Leading the Fight for Black Lives in Chicago," ''Ms. Magazine'', 4 April, 2018.

Phillips, Daschell, "CPS denies travel aid to fair winner," ''Hyde Park Herald'', 15 May 2013.

Ritzu, Julianna, "No Justice No Peace: How Eva Lewis is Transforming Youth Activism in Chicago," ''Payton Paw Print'', 6 October 2016.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Eva Activists for African-American civil rights African-American feminists Women civil rights activists American feminists Activists from Chicago Intersectional feminism Race and society Youth activists Spoken word Black Lives Matter people American anti-racism activists Living people Year of birth missing (living people)