Row Lewis is a Grenadian activist, teacher, life coach, vocalist, and liberation theologian. She is the founder of Liberty Fellowship Center, a non-profit ministry, where she serves as the Executive Director and Spiritual Advisor.

Biography

Early life

The daughter of a Pentecostal Pastor, Rev. Raymond Lewis of the True Vine Church, Row Lewis is an ordained minister with academic studies in Comparative Religion, World Religion, Psychology, Counseling, and Journalism from the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

and Hope Theological Seminary. She has enjoyed a career in television broadcasting for over a decade, winning

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...

Awards (1998, 2001) for interviews with former U.S. Secretary of Defense,

William Cohen William Sebastian Cohen (born August 28, 1940) is an American lawyer, author, and politician from the U.S. state of Maine. A Republican, Cohen served as both a member of the United States House of Representatives (1973–1979) and Senate (1979� ...

, and recording artists, The

Baha Men The Baha Men are a Bahamian junkanoo band formed in New Providence, Bahamas in 1977. They are best known for their Grammy Award-winning hit song "Who Let the Dogs Out". History Early years The Baha Men formed in 1977 as High Voltage, initia ...

. Born into a musical family, Row took the stage singing and performing at age 5, but still feels she has more to accomplish: :''"I have tested the physical constraints of my body from a young age…defying time, space, and circumstance on track fields,

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

courts,

martial art Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the preserv ...

arenas. I have pushed and prodded my intellect on

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, ...

as well as home fronts…always seeking…always yearning…always pressing for more…more…and more still. I am more than well aware of what it's like to achieve and succeed, but now view 'success' in very different constructs...I still have much work to do."'' Row says her focus now is stayed on the human condition. :''"My message is one of

liberation Liberation or liberate may refer to: Film and television * ''Liberation'' (film series), a 1970–1971 series about the Great Patriotic War * "Liberation" (''The Flash''), a TV episode * "Liberation" (''K-9''), an episode Gaming * '' Liberati ...

...It's my desire to bring healing to all oppressed people. I want to encourage a higher state of spiritual vibration in this world...and bring us all back to a greater

connectedness In mathematics, connectedness is used to refer to various properties meaning, in some sense, "all one piece". When a mathematical object has such a property, we say it is connected; otherwise it is disconnected. When a disconnected object can be s ...

to our Creator Source and thus to each other."''

Career

In 1994 Row started the music group, '' Fresh Fire'', with her brother (Attorney and Music Producer, Esmond Lewis) and sister (Entrepreneur, Rachel Lewis) serving as lead vocalist. Her band toured and shared stages with such gospel artists as:

Kirk Franklin Kirk Dewayne Franklin (born January 26, 1970) is an American songwriter, choir director, gospel singer, and rapper. He is best known for leading urban contemporary gospel ensembles such as The Family, God's Property, and One Nation Crew (1NC) ...

Yolanda Adams Yolanda Yvette Adams (born August 27, 1961) is an American gospel singer, actress, and host of her own nationally syndicated morning gospel show. She is one of the best-selling gospel artists of all time, having sold over 10 million albums ...

, Cece Winans, Donnie McClurkin,

T-Bone The T-bone and porterhouse are steaks of beef cut from the short loin (called the sirloin in Commonwealth countries and Ireland). Both steaks include a "T"-shaped lumbar vertebra with sections of abdominal internal oblique muscle on each side ...

, Hezekiah Walker, and Vicki Winans. ''Fresh Fire'' recorded two albums, including the acclaimed, ''Summer of '94''. Fusing

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

, calypso,

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fo ...

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...

and blues with inspirational lyrics, the group enjoyed several crossover hits. In 2003 through 2004, Row took the stage as a solo artist and performer, of original musical and

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 ...

pieces, under her "Soul Connection" label. Currently, Row is working on a new project entitled, "The Poet Speaks", where she takes on the issues of race, class, gender, religion, and social justice.

Personal life

Row Lewis is originally from the Island of Grenada, born to her

Trinidadian Trinidadians and Tobagonians, colloquially known as Trinis or Trinbagonians, are the people who are identified with the country of Trinidad and Tobago. The country is home to people of many different national, ethnic and religious origins. As a ...

mother Yvonne, and her Grenadian/ Vincentian father, Raymond. She is the fourth of seven children. Row currently resides in

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southe ...

External links

Liberty Fellowship Center website
*CNET, Download.com

*Row Lewis' Blog

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Row Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Life coaches Grenadian Pentecostals University of Florida alumni Pentecostal pastors Grenadian musicians Grenadian emigrants to the United States Grenadian people of Trinidad and Tobago descent Grenadian people of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines descent Liberation theologians