Fellow: Cynthia Patterson Lewis

Cynthia Patterson Lewis, director of archives at the King Library and Archives (KLA) at The King Center, will be inducted as a Fellow of the Society of American Archivists (SAA) during an awards ceremony at the Annual Meeting of SAA in Anaheim, CA. The distinction of Fellow is the highest honor bestowed on individuals by SAA and is awarded for outstanding contributions to the archives profession.

Lewis, who began her career in 1975 as a media specialist at Arbor Hill Elementary School in Albany, NY, has dedicated over fifty years to strengthening the archives profession. She was recruited to work as an archivist at the KLA in 1980. Acknowledged for her broad and impressive knowledge of the African American experience and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., she was soon promoted to serve as associate director, and supported the official opening of the archives in 1981. During that period, Lewis worked closely in alliance with the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Park, established by the Department of Interior to preserve the places where Dr. King was born, lived, and worshipped. In the mid-1980s, Lewis relocated to Jackson State University in Jackson, MS, where she served to promote humanities and archival programs. She served as the first archivist for the Margaret Walker National Research Center, and later as the Chief Field Archivist for the Mississippi Statewide Survey of African American Records, where she assisted in implementing the exemplary model for discovering and documenting cultural heritage resources. During the 1990s, Lewis served as a consultant for the African American Educational Archives Initiative (AAEA), which sought to locate and identify primary source materials documenting African American educational history in the United States. The AAEA survey project enlisted librarians, archivists, historians, and other scholars to access archival records at Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Since returning to The King Center in 1993, Lewis has worked for over three decades at the KLA, establishing a prototype for cultural archives and documentation strategies.

Lewis's profound impact has expanded the number of Black professionals in archives careers and solidified her legacy as a passionate, committed guardian of history. She has been instrumental in providing a range of archival services in the publication of numerous dissertations, articles, and books, as well as in the production of a myriad of documentaries and films profiling King. Lewis served as a trusted, experienced archival consultant for The King Papers Project, an endeavor envisioned by Mrs. Coretta Scott King to produce authoritative, chronologically arranged, multi-volume editions documenting Dr. King's most significant speeches, sermons, and correspondence. Alongside program development, Lewis has designed and maintained multiple impactful exhibits and displays that educate and inspire. Since the 1980s, millions of visitors to the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport have engaged with the permanent tribute exhibit to Martin Luther King, Jr., featuring artifacts and King family photos. Lewis has also served as a highly sought-after consultant for several acclaimed projects, including: consulting with the National Center for Civil and Human Rights to feature selections from Dr. King's manuscripts in their exhibits; participating in the inaugural project Behind the Veil: Documenting African American Life in the Jim Crow South with the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University; and providing reference services to the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity as they planned and built The Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, DC.

Lewis is described by her peers as an exceptional educator and mentor, passionate about advocating for the next generation of professionals, and known for providing generous and personalized support to researchers. Her presentations and educational lectures address a variety of critical areas, including documenting the Black experience, the impact of community-driven archives, and the promotion of best practices, procedures, and operational standards. In collaboration with her peers at SAA, Lewis has participated in presentations such as "African American Archives Embracing New Technologies," delivered at the SAA 1997 Annual Meeting, and "EMPOWERMENT! Documenting African Americans Since the Civil Rights Movement," presented at the SAA 2002 Annual Meeting. She launched the King Library and Archive Internship Program, which has hosted hundreds of scholars, and also worked with the American Library Association to help shape programming and deliver workshops and presentations often related to the Coretta Scott King Book Award.

Lewis actively participated in local, state, and national cultural archival organizations. As a charter participant of the Atlanta African American Advisory Group, Lewis convened with other archivists to address urgent concerns for endangered civil rights files. At SAA, Lewis served in positions such as chair of the Minority Student Award Selection Committee and the co-chair and chair of the Archives and Archivists of Color Roundtable. In service to the archives profession in the metro Atlanta area, Lewis organized a memorial for Bernice Brack, a long-term SAA staff member, to honor her life and contributions.

One of Lewis’s colleagues stated, “I watched her welcome young researchers, students, and interns into the space with the same care and enthusiasm that she displayed with me, a testament to her consistency and mission to provide access to the KLA holdings and archives profession.” Another thoughtful commenter noted, “Mrs. Lewis is beyond deserving of any recognition that honors her service in the field of archival science ... I personally like to think of her as an unsung national treasure that has stories, experiences, and perspectives worth sharing with the world.”