Roscoe E. Lewis was a chemistry professor at Hampton University and a scholar in the United States who led efforts to document and publish an account of African American experiences in Virginia. He was a fellow of the Rosenwald Foundation.[1]

He was born in Washington D.C.'s Anacostia neighborhood.[2] He led the African American unit of the Virginia Writers' Project.[3][4]

He wrote about his work to W. E. B. Du Bois before a conference they were attending at Atoanta University.[5]

For his Writers' Project work he produced films and audiotapes.[6] Officials censored discussions of cruel punishments, forced marriages, family separations, ridicule of whites, and praise of Union soldiers from the interviews.[7] Publication of Writers' Project research from black researchers was generally obstructed.[8]

Publishings edit

  • "The Role of Pressure Groups" (1943)[9]
  • The Negro in Virginia

References edit

  1. ^ Fund, Julius Rosenwald (October 11, 1940). "Review for the Two-year Period ..." The Fund – via Google Books.
  2. ^ Taylor, David (July 26, 2022). "Roscoe Lewis and an Early Edition of Black History".
  3. ^ "Ex-Slave Narratives". www.lva.virginia.gov.
  4. ^ "Negro in Virginia, The (1940)".
  5. ^ "Letter from Hampton Institute to W. E. B. Du Bois, March 24, 1941". credo.library.umass.edu.
  6. ^ "Hampton University Archives". www.lyrasis.org.
  7. ^ Gates (Jr.), Henry Louis (October 11, 1985). The Slave's Narrative. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-506656-2 – via Google Books.
  8. ^ Yetman, Norman R. (March 15, 2012). Voices from Slavery: 100 Authentic Slave Narratives. Courier Corporation. ISBN 9780486131016 – via Google Books.
  9. ^ Lewis, Roscoe E. (1943). "The Role of Pressure Groups in Maintaining Morale Among Negroes". The Journal of Negro Education. 12 (3): 464–473. doi:10.2307/2293065. JSTOR 2293065 – via JSTOR.