The Sarah Lewis Social Justice Award

Sarah Anna Lewis
1846-1939

Sarah Anna Lewis of Fall River was admitted to Bridgewater State Normal School on Feb. 19, 1867, and according to research compiled by Dr. Thomas Turner, professor of history at Bridgewater State University, Miss Lewis may have been the first African-American to graduate from the institution. She was a member of the Class of 1869.

Dr. Turner discovered the information about Miss Lewis in October 2006, while researching a book he is writing on the history of the college. Until Dr. Turner found a photograph of Miss Lewis in a college album, it was believed that Mary Hudson Onley, Class of 1912, had been the first African- American to graduate from Bridgewater.

Further research by Dr. Turner and by Mrs. Mabel Bates, special collections librarian in the Clement C. Maxwell Library, led to the discovery of Miss Lewis' application to Bridgewater. She was born on Feb. 20, 1846 and was a graduate of Fall River High School. She taught for three terms before coming to Bridgewater State Normal School, which, according to Dr. Turner, was not uncommon in the 19th century.

Subsequent information about Miss Lewis, uncovered by Dr. Philip Silvia, professor of history at Bridgewater State University, revealed that after her graduation she taught in Fall River for two years. She taught at the "1st Div. Intermediate" school level, commencing with her March 1869 appointment and continued teaching during the next academic year.

On May 11, 1871, she married Edward A. Williams and forfeited her teaching career because married women could not teach in public schools during this era. She subsequently became the mother of three children. Her husband was a cook and baker and established a catering business, but difficult economic circumstances in Fall River led the Williams family to move to Manhattan in the late 1870s. Later, they moved to the Boston area where Sarah helped support her family by working as a seamstress and dressmaker. She lived to the age of 92, passing away on Jan. 24, 1939.

The Sarah Lewis Social Justice Award & Lewis Medallion

This award is named after Sarah Anna Lewis of Fall River who is believed to have been the first African-American to graduate from the institution in the Class of 1869. To be eligible for consideration , the nominee must be a current full-time member of the faculty, library, administration or staff of one of the nine institutions in the Massachusetts State University System and have been employed at least one year.  The recipient will be selected based on the following criteria:

• A deep career commitment to teaching or promoting social justice, diversity and inclusion on their campus or in their community;
• An evidence of creativity in teaching or promoting social justice, diversity and inclusion on their campus or in their community;
• Significant contributions on their campus or in their community in the form of:
  • Scholarly research or artistic work, or;
  • Time and resources given to faculty, students, administrators and staff which made it possible for them to achieve identifiable and tangible goals related to social justice, diversity and inclusion, or;
  • Financial support in the form of scholarships or fellowship awards to help faculty, students, administrators and staff to further their academic goals or to contribute to the accomplishment of a goal that benefitted the community in which the institution is located.

Upon receipt of all nomination forms, the Massachusetts Hall of Black Achievement (HOBA) Commissioners will review the nominations and make recommendations to the President of Bridgewater State University.

In February, the recipient of the Sarah Lewis Social Justice Award, will be honored at the annual HOBA Heritage Celebration. The award recipient will receive a specially designed medallion in recognition of their achievement.

The Lewis Medallion

The Sarah Lewis Medallion was commissioned by the Massachusetts Hall of Black Achievement in 2010.  The bronze medallion serves as a representation of commitment to social justice, diversity and inclusion on the campus and in the community.  The image of Sarah Lewis with the name of the recipient is engraved on the medallion with an image of Boyden Hall on the reverse side.  The medallion was designed and crafted by Leigh Craven, assistant professor of art at Bridgewater State University.

Previous Sarah Lewis Award Recipients

• 2011 - Frances Jones-Sneed

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2011 Sarah Lewis Social Justice Award Recipient

Frances Jones-Sneed, PhD, has worked for 35 years in higher education as a professor of history, African-American and women studies scholar, and community activist.  Dr. Jones-Sneed's early contributions include working in voter registration campaigns in the Mississippi Delta, Freedom Schools in Madison County, and being  a campus member of the SNCC, the Political Action Committee.  Since 1995, Dr. Jones-Sneed has been a faculty member at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, where she has been a renowned faculty member, chair of the Departments of History, Geography, and Political Science, director of the Women's Studies Program and leading member of the MCLA's Diversity Task Force.  Dr. Jones-Sneed has received  numerous local and national awards for her work, including recognition by the National Endowment for the Humanities for her work entitled The Shaping Role of Place in African American Biography.  In recognition of her intellectual and scholarly accomplishments, the National Endowment for the Humanities has also provided grants for Dr. Jones-Sneed to work with educators from across the nation on how to infuse attention to under-represented groups into their teaching.

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Last Modified: May 10, 2011