Martha S. Lewis

Martha S. Lewis (born February 24, 1924 in Kensett, Arkansas, died 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. 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 in 1944. She next earned her masters of social work (MSW) degree from Atlanta University School of Social Work in 1947. She also...