Founder of The Birmingham Times newspaper inducted into UA Communication and Information Sciences Hall of Fame

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. ( WIAT ) — Jesse Lewis Sr., the man who founded Birmingham’s preeminent Black newspapers and ran it for over 30 years as publisher, was recently inducted into College of Communication and Information Sciences Hall of Fame at the University of Alabama.

Lewis, 99, was one of four people honored during a ceremony held at UA Friday to celebrate “amazing individuals who have overcome challenges to become leaders who transformed their professions, their organizations and their communities,” C&IS dean Brian Butler said in a statement.

In 1963, Lewis founded The Birmingham Times, a weekly newspaper devoted to covering and serving the city’s Black community. The newspaper still runs today.

“I have been to programs similar to this one over my lifetime, but I can say this is one of the greatest,” Lewis told The Times in an interview published Monday . “I am most appreciative of receiving this honor … being inducted into the Hall of Fame.”

Originally from Northport, Lewis served in the 183rd Engineering Combat Battalion during WWII. After earning accounting and business administration degrees from Miles College, Lewis got involved in several business endeavors, eventually launching Jesse J. Lewis and Associates, the first Black-owned advertising agency in Alabama.

Lewis, who continues to work as president of the political consulting firm The Lewis Group, was inducted into the Birmingham Business Hall of Fame in 2019 and the National Association of Black Journalists Hall of Fame in 2023.

In 2020, Lewis wrote “One Man’s Opinion: Together We Can Do This,” a book that is part memoir and part manual for how one can work to achieve success.

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