Lewis, Robert (1802 - 1859)

Genre: Non-Fiction

Robert Benjamin Lewis lived in Hallowell and Bath ME and was Maine's pioneering African-American writer, as well as the inventor of the patented oakum picking machine. Lewis's book, Light and Truth, From Ancient and Sacred History is considered the first Afro-centric history published in the U.S (first printing, 1836). It consists in part of short sketches of prominent African-American leaders. Lewis believed blacks would never have equality in the U.S. and he became involved in colonization efforts in Haiti, where he died before the Civil War.

Selected Bibliography

Light and Truth: Collected from the Bible and Ancient and Modern History Containing the Universal History of the Colored and Indian Race from the Creation of the World to the Present Time, 1844.