Fred Lewis

Educator, NAACP officer and civil rights activist Fred Lewis (1912-2002), managed Ruth Starr Blake's estate after he returned from WWII. Lewis was influential in restoring voting rights for African American Texans. The first White Citizens Party was formed in 1878 in Harrison county by several officiers of the Texas and Pacific Railroad, including Amory Starr (1847-1906). In 1923, the Texas legislature passed a law that excluded African Americans from voting in the Democratic Party primary. Fred Lewis advanced the case, Perry v. Cyphers, to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals by raising funds and partnering with statewide NAACP leadership. In 1951, the court decision ended the white primary system and restored the vote to African Americans in Harrison county.