Bertha Lewis

The Black Institute (TBI)
Brooklyn, NY

Bertha Lewis is a community organizer and the founder and president of The Black Institute (TBI). She has worked tirelessly as an activist and community organizer for over 25 years. She is the former CEO and Chief Organizer of ACORN, an influential national organization that mobilized urban communities at the grassroots level, fighting for their needs for over 40 years. Ms. Lewis has fought for immigrant rights by advocating at the city, state and federal levels. She’s been an integral part of the low wage workers campaign to guarantee higher pay, paid sick days, and family leave. Ms. Lewis has also worked with developers to create a landmark community benefits agreement to secure affordable housing, living wages, local hiring, and training programs for the community. She has led the charge in advocating for Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises (M/WBEs) in New York City. In 2020, The Black Institute published Poisoned Parks, which identifies the toxic effects of the weed killer Roundup in city parks and documented the disproportionate hazard of this chemical exposure to people of color in New York City, including city parks workers who are 96% African American and people of color. For her effective community leadership, Ms. Lewis has received many accolades including Essence Magazine’s 2011 list of “28 Most Influential Black Women,” Crain’s New York’s 100 Most Powerful Women in New York, New York Magazine’s “Most Influential in Politics,” The New York Observer’s “Political Power 80.”