Birmingham Times Founder Gets NABJ Hall of Fame Seat Jesse Lewis Started Paper in 1964; Also Led Lawson Community College, Sold Coca-Cola

BY GRANT HINES

Jesse Lewis, founder of the Birmingham Times, has been inducted into the National Association of Black Journalists’ Hall of Fame. Lewis founded the weekly newspaper in 1964, the same year the Civil Rights

Act was signed into law.

“I wasn’t no different than the average kid growing up,” Lewis said. “I wanted everything.”

Lewis, also a World War II veteran, has been president of Lawson Community Col-

Hall of Fame inductees have taken the field there. However, within that history, MLB failed to acknowledge the legacy of the Negro Leagues.

Rickwood was home to the Birmingham Black Barons, a Negro League team that produced stars such as Satchel Paige and Willie Mays. The team first competed at Rickwood Field in 1924 and continued until 1960, collecting four Negro League titles along the way.

Many Black boys in Birmingham grew up with Mays, Paige and others as role models, including former MLB player and World Series champion Ron “Papa Jack” Jackson.

Jackson has since returned to Birmingham after spending decades coaching players in the Major Leagues and has given back to the community through baseball and mentorship.

“We’re not just baseball coaches,” Jackson said. “We are life skills coaches too.” lege, a salesman for Coca-Cola, in addition to owning multiple properties throughout Birmingham.

Randy Winn, Ryan Howard and CC Sabathia share the same sentiment as they also provide mentorship to young athletes.

Sabathia specifically is heavily involved with the Players Alliance, started by fellow former black MLB players Dee Gordon, Edwin Jackson and Cameron Maybin during 2020. The Players Alliance provides mentorship by professional MLB players and participated in a community outreach and advocacy in the wake of George Floyd.

Renovations to the stadium will begin in October and should be complete ahead of the game scheduled for 2024.

He dropped out of high school to join the U.S. Army, but after returning from World War II, he earned his diploma. He then enrolled at Miles College in Fairfield, Ala. where he chartered the Gamma Kappa chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., the nation’s oldest Black fraternity.

“I can’t imagine a journalism hall of fame without Lewis,” said Barnett Wright, who Lewis hired several years ago as executive editor of the Birmingham Times. “Who better to learn from than someone who’s 98 years old, someone who founded this newspaper at the height of the civil rights movement.”

The newspaper still operates in the original building that Lewis purchased in 1964 on 3rd Avenue in Birmingham’s Ensley neighborhood. He never had plans to move from the small buildings and expand the publication, even though his original aspirations were to acquire a building downtown.

“I’m in a safe location,” Lewis said. “Nobody’s ever broke in this building. Nobody’s ever done anything. I know the people across the street and they know me, and we need one another. That’s important to me.”

Lewis said journalists shouldn’t forget those who helped them in their careers.

“You were put here to help somebody, and I don’t forget that, whether they return it, don’t worry about that,” he said.

The Birmingham Times continues its mission to inspire the next generation of Black journalists and Lewis laid the foundation for that to happen.

“He’s had a tremendous impact not only professionally as a business person, someone who knows journalism, but also personally who just tells all of these stories that he has encountered,” Wright said.