Martha S. Lewis (February 24, 1924, in Kensett, Arkansas – July 2, 2007, in Albany, New York) was an American government official and social worker. She had a long career as a ground-breaking social worker in the metropolitan New York City area and elsewhere. In the 1970s, she was the highest ranking African-American official in any state government, as a deputy commissioner for the Department of Social Services in the New York State government. [1] [2] She was also a pioneer in the civil rights movement.
Lewis received a bachelor's degree in social sciences from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff [3] in 1944. [2] She next earned her Master of Social Work (MSW) degree from Atlanta University School of Social Work [3] in 1947. [2] She also briefly attended the Harvard University's School of Government. [3]
Lewis began her social work career by working in the 1950s with youth in New Orleans, Los Angeles, and New York City. [2] [3] As an expert on juvenile delinquency and deviance, she wrote the seminal 1961 report The Girl Delinquent and the Male Street-Corner Gang. [4]
In 1970, Lewis was one of two dozen original founders of the Coalition of One Hundred Black Women, a civil rights organization for Black women. [2] [3] [5] [6] She was an active member of the NAACP, the National Urban League, and other civil rights organizations. [2] [7]
Lewis held several high-level positions in the New York city and state government from the 1960s to the 1980s, under both Republican and Democrat administrations. [1] [2] [3] [7] [8]
Mayor John Lindsay appointed her in 1964 to be deputy director for the Department of Social and Community Services at New York City Housing Authority, a public housing authority in New York City. [2] [3] In 1968, Mayor Lindsay next appointed her to run the "Operation Better Block", which was a prototype for block associations. [2] [3] [7] She worked as a consultant in the early 1970s. [2] [7] Finally, she served as the director of the Department of Social and Community Services for the New York City Housing Authority from 1972 to 1975, also under Lindsay. [2] [3] [7]
In 1975, she was appointed a deputy commissioner for special projects for the state Department of Social Services by the newly elected governor Hugh L. Carey. [2] [3] [7] In 1977, she became deputy commissioner for the New York City metropolitan area. [2] [7]
After retirement, she served on the board of the Cathedral Choral Society of the Washington National Cathedral. [9] She also volunteered with the New York State Museum, [1] [8] The Girl Friends, Inc., [3] [10] and the Cathedral of All Saints in Albany. [3]