Edward Lewis

CTL-E-3751 · Person · businessperson · 1968–present

VERIFIED evidence grade of this record

Co-founder of Essence Communications Inc. (1968) with Clarence O. Smith, Cecil Hollingsworth, and Jonathan Blount; majority owner with Smith through a 35-year partnership; co-visionary of the Essence Music Festival.

The record

Also known as: Edward T. Lewis

Notes

RELP85 new supporting entity; identity re-check: no duplicate in graph.

Relationships

Essence Festival of Culture — initiated
Edward Lewis and Clarence O. Smith were the visionaries behind the first Essence Music Festival, staged in New Orleans in 1995 for the company's 25th anniversary.

Referenced by

Essence — founded by → this record
Essence Communications — founded by → this record

Sources

Wikipedia - Essence (magazine)
Black Enterprise - Ed Lewis, Clarence Smith, Susan Taylor media powerhouse

Record CTL-E-3751 · CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph · evidence grade: VERIFIED · 2 sources · 3 mapped relationships · CTL research: RELP-001.
Directory: all entity records · the knowledge graph

Cite this record

Cite as: CultureTechLens, “Edward Lewis (CTL-E-3751),” CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph, October 2026. https://culturetechlens.com/graph/entities/ctl-e-3751/

Chicago: CultureTechLens. “Edward Lewis (CTL-E-3751).” CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph. Chicago, IL: CultureTechLens, 2026. https://culturetechlens.com/graph/entities/ctl-e-3751/
APA: CultureTechLens. (2026). Edward Lewis (CTL-E-3751) [Entity record]. CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph. https://culturetechlens.com/graph/entities/ctl-e-3751/
MLA: CultureTechLens. “Edward Lewis (CTL-E-3751).” CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph, 2026, https://culturetechlens.com/graph/entities/ctl-e-3751/

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Negro grocery store, Black Belt, Chicago, Illinois, Chicago, 1941Photo: Rosskam, Edwin, 1903-1985, FSA-OWI, Public Domain, via Library of Congress

Shoeshine, 47th Street, Chicago's main Negro business street, Chicago, Illinois, Chicago, 1941Photo: Rosskam, Edwin, 1903-1985, FSA-OWI, Public Domain, via Library of Congress

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