Elma Ina Lewis (September 15, 1921 – January 1, 2004) was an American arts educator and the founder of the National Center of Afro-American Artists and The Elma Lewis School of Fine Arts. She was one of the first recipients of a MacArthur Fellows Grant, in 1981, and received a Presidential Medal for the Arts by President Ronald Reagan in 1983. She is also an honorary member of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority. Early life and education Lewis was born September 15, 1921, in Boston to parents Clairmont and Edwardine Lewis who had immigrated from Barbados. Lewis had two older brothers, Darnley and George from her mother's previous marriage. She attended the Ruggles Street Nursery School in 1924 where she was told her IQ was higher than it would be when she grew older. That memory stayed with her and would eventually prompt her to start her own school later on. Her parents were followers of Marcus Garvey to whose ideas she attributes her racial pride and desire to promote African culture. Lewis attended Roxbury Memorial High School for Girls where she studied voice, piano, and dance. She worked her way through college by acting in local theatre productions and graduated from Emerson College (B.L.I., 1943), and Boston University School of Education (M.Ed., 1944). After graduating from Boston University, Lewis taught speech therapy at Massachusetts Mental Health Center, the New England Hospital, and the Habit Clinic of Boston. She also taught dance and drama at the Cambridge Community Center and fine arts at the Harriet Tubman House. At age 23, Lewis and her parents moved from Dudley street in Roxbury to a house on Homestead street where she lived until her death. In 1951 Lewis's mother, Edwardine died. Her brother Darnley then moved into the downstairs section of the house with his wife and kids. Arts education The Elma Lewis School of Fine Arts (ELSFA) In 1950 Lewis founded The Elma Lewis School of Fine Arts to provide arts education for the African-American community in Boston with a comprehensive program across the visual and performing arts. The teaching program at the school was focused on building character and multidisciplinary arts instruction through performance and exhibitions. Her school attracted many top professionals in the fine arts resulting in a very rigorous program. At its peak, the school enrolled 700 students and employed 100 teachers. Many of the school's graduates went on to