Legendary photojournalist Roy Lewis has photographed the ordinary, from children dancing, to the extraordinary, such as presidents and civil rights leaders. Last week the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) honored Lewis for his role in capturing images across Black America for decades.
Born in Natchez, Mississippi, Lewis moved to Chicago at the age of 17, where he went to work for John H. Johnson, founder of Johnson Publishing Company, which birthed publications such as Ebony and Jet Magazine. With Johnson, he captured Black America, photographing moments and people at the height of the Civil Rights Movement.
“Lewis is a renowned photographer and activist whose photography career started in 1964 when Jet Magazine published his photograph of musician Thelonious Monk. His work has been celebrated nationwide, including in the ‘Everywhere Exhibition,’ beginning in 2008 at the Essence Music Festival,” NABJ wrote about Lewis, who also works as a photographer for The Washington Informer.
Lewis said he worked for Johnson “at a special time.”
“I worked for Mr. Johnson from 1956 to 1968 and to be honored on this Avenue. It’s not about the pictures, it’s about the feeling of being honored by your peers and being back in Chicago where I did some of my top work. It was magnificent,” said Lewis, who received NABJ’s Legacy Award on Friday, Aug. 2, during a Hall of Fame Luncheon during the organization’s annual convention.
The longtime photojournalist was nominated by Sam Ford, a founding member of the NABJ who worked as a broadcaster for three decades reporting news locally for WJLA. Ford has gotten to know the photographer over the years, as Lewis has become a staple to District journalism, since he left Chicago in 1973 and moved to Washington, D.C.
“Roy has been part of the Washington press corp for as far as I can remember,” Ford told The Informer. “Roy started taking pictures when he was 17 years old. He will be 87 this year… That is more than 70 years connected with the news media except when he was in the Army.”
Ford emphasized why it was important to honor Lewis, who continues to work as a photographer today.
“He has gotten so many pictures for Ebony and Jet from the 1960s and he is still a reporter for The Washington Informer. I thought he needed recognition,” Ford said.
Dr. Ben Chavis, executive director of the National Newspaper Publishers Association, also congratulated Lewis on the award and his continued commitment to photojournalism.
“The National Newspaper Publishers Association salutes Roy Lewis as a phenomenal photojournalist and for his long-standing contribution to freedom, justice, and equality, Roy Lewis is an icon of the Black Press.”