Reflections in Black: David Levering Lewis

Born in Little Rock, Ark. in May 1936, historian David Levering Lewis paved the way for in-depth considerations of figures such as W.E.B. Du Bois and African American men and women of the early 20th century. Despite having educators for parents, Lewis didn't learn to read until he was about six years old. After his father was as a witness in a NAACP case to ensure equal pay in the South, his family moved to Ohio. Lewis attended Fisk University where he learned from some of the pioneers of English, history and art. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1956, received his master's degree from Columbia University in 1959, and attained his doctorate from the London School of Economics and Political Science in 1962. Lewis served in the U.S. Army before becoming a professor at schools such as Howard, Cornell, Notre Dame, Harvard and the University of California at San Diego. In 1985, Lewis became the Martin Luther King, Jr. Professor of History at Rutgers University. He later accepted a professorship at New York University. Lewis has also won two Pulitzer prizes for his writing about the life of W.E.B. Du Bois.