Title
Jesse J. Lewis Sr., 1925-
Subject
Newspaper publishers
Description
Jesse J. Lewis Sr. created and published the Birmingham Times, a black newspaper.
Lewis was born in Northport in 1925 and was raised by his grandmother in a house at the bottom of Greensboro Avenue, on what was then called River Hill, near the Stallworth Lake recreational area. Lewis attended school in Northport until sixth grade, then Central on Ninth Street until ninth grade, then Industrial High School, from which he dropped out to join the Army in World War II, at 17.
After the war, Lewis earned a bachelor's degree from Miles College, a master's from Troy State and a doctorate from Atlanta University.
In the early 1950s, he founded the first black-owned advertising and marketing agency in the country and over the years owned or partnered in more than a dozen business ventures.
Lewis started the Times because Birmingham's largest newspapers, the News and Post-Herald, only mentioned blacks when caught in a crime.
Another black newspaper was being published at the time, but Lewis said it only covered discrimination. Lewis wanted to cover the news in a positive way, to record history.
In January, 2016, Lewis sold the newspaper to the Foundation for Progress in Journalism, which was founded in Lewis' honor two years ago with the goal of promoting journalism among minority students.
Lewis was born in Northport in 1925 and was raised by his grandmother in a house at the bottom of Greensboro Avenue, on what was then called River Hill, near the Stallworth Lake recreational area. Lewis attended school in Northport until sixth grade, then Central on Ninth Street until ninth grade, then Industrial High School, from which he dropped out to join the Army in World War II, at 17.
After the war, Lewis earned a bachelor's degree from Miles College, a master's from Troy State and a doctorate from Atlanta University.
In the early 1950s, he founded the first black-owned advertising and marketing agency in the country and over the years owned or partnered in more than a dozen business ventures.
Lewis started the Times because Birmingham's largest newspapers, the News and Post-Herald, only mentioned blacks when caught in a crime.
Another black newspaper was being published at the time, but Lewis said it only covered discrimination. Lewis wanted to cover the news in a positive way, to record history.
In January, 2016, Lewis sold the newspaper to the Foundation for Progress in Journalism, which was founded in Lewis' honor two years ago with the goal of promoting journalism among minority students.
Source
Tuscaloosa News
Publisher
The Tuscaloosa News
Date
2016
Contributor
Betty Slowe (Description)
Type
Photograph
Identifier
2309
Coverage
Northport (AL)