Eva Overton Lewis (1893-1945) was a University of Chicago graduate, a charter member of the University of Chicago's Beta Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, and the daughter of entrepreneur Anthony Overton Jr. Julian Herman Lewis, MD, PhD (1891-1989) was a University of Chicago graduate, pathologist, educator, and author of The Biology of the Negro (1942). The collection provides a snapshot of what middle-class life was like for African Americans during the first half of the 20th century.
This exhibit sheds light on the early years of Eva and Julian's lives, their families, their time at the University of Chicago, their union and children, and their travels. Using photographs, personal ephemera, correspondence, and memorabilia, this exhibit demonstrates Eva and Julian's contributions to the University of Chicago, their academic and professional accomplishments, and the histories their legacies are a part of.
Exhibit visitors will learn more about Overton-Lewis family history, what it was like for African Americans moving North after the Civil War, and Eva and Julian's relationship dynamics with their family. The exhibit also highlights Anthony Overton Jr.'s entrepreneurship and Eva and Julian's involvement in the Overton family businesses. Eva and Julian travelled extensively for work and leisure. They lived in Europe for one year and spent summers in Idlewild, MI. The exhibit situates their experiences in Europe and Idlewild within the historical contexts of African Americans abroad in the 1920s and U.S. vacation destinations of refuge for African Americans in the 1920s and 1930s.
Finding Aid