Violet T. Lewis

Violet T. Lewis (May 27, 1897 – March 23, 1968) was an American businesswoman and educator who founded the Lewis College of Business in 1928, the only historically black college in Michigan.

Early life

Lewis was born Violet Temple Harrison on May 27, 1897, in Lima, Ohio. She graduated from Lima High School in 1915. She attended Wilberforce University from 1915 to 1917. Lewis started her own radio program, "The Negro Melody Hour", with a hope of boosting enrollment to the college. The program made her the first black radio announcer in Indiana. She started an additional school in Detroit, Michigan in 1939, which opened the following February. Lewis eventually closed the Indiana college once the college's success in Detroit became apparent.

Personal life She married Thomas Garfield Lewis in 1920 and had two children before their divorce in 1943. Lewis died on March 23, 1968, at the age of 70.