Eva Lewis

Eva Maria Lewis is an American activist From South Side, Chicago, she has led a number of local protests, including the July 11, 2016 youth march on Millennium Park to protest police brutality. She has also founded two organizations, The I Project and Youth for Black Lives.

Education Lewis is a graduate of Walter Payton College Prep, and a student at University of Pennsylvania. In 2015, when she was a junior in high school, Lewis founded the non-profit The I Project. The I Project supports intersectional activism through art, with fundraising and community outreach. Events have included a photo shoot for people of all sizes and shapes, with a discussion of culture and body image, and a screening of Beyoncé's Lemonade with inter-generational panel discussion. Following the march, Lewis and the organizers started Youth for Black Lives (Y4BL) to activate youth voices against systemic oppression. In November 2016, in response to a deadly shooting in Mount Greenwood, Chicago where Joshua Beal, 25, of Indianapolis brandished a gun and failed to drop it after being instructed by a police sergeant; and text messages sent among students of Marist High School (Chicago, Illinois), Y4BL organized another march. However, Lewis and the organizers received threats on social media, and CPS leadership contacted the organizers parents, and the march was cancelled due to safety concerns. Instead, Y4BL organized meetings with Chicago Police Department Superintendent Eddie T. Johnson. The first, held on November 11, 2016, included Johnson, the Chief of Patrol, the Alderman of Mt. Greenwood, and the principal of Marist High School. During the first and subsequent meetings, Lewis and the other Y4BL members questioned Johnson and discussed racism and policing in Mt. Greenwood and Chicago at large.

United Nations Through her decade of involvement with the Girl Scouts of the USA, Lewis participated in the United Nations’ 60th Annual Commission on the Status of Women in New York in March 2016. Lewis spoke at the UN again in October 2016 for the United Nations' International Day of the Girl Child, performing spoken word during the opening of the event; she also gave a speech during the proceedings.

Teen Vogue Lewis contributed to Teen Vogue in 2016 and 2017, focusing on black women, intersectional feminism, and perceptions and approaches to handling violence in Chicago. She addresses social justice, especially for people of color. Princeton Prize in Race Relations, April 2017 Rising Star award, DuSable Museum of African American History, June 2017

Publications and speeches

Eva Lewis articles on Teen Vogue website ABC 7 Chicago interview with Lewis on The I Project Eva Lewis Opening Performance, U.N. International Day of the Girl Child, 2016 Eva Lewis Speech, U.N. International Day of the Girl Child, 2016 Chicago: A Land of Wilderness and Oasis | Eva Lewis | TEDxTeen