The Mark Lewis Amphitheater East

Dear former students, former colleagues, friends and family of Mark Lewis,

On Saturday, September 16th, a Memorial was held at Abraham Lincoln High School in Brooklyn to honor the memory of Mark Lewis. It was an extraordinary evening. Together we celebrated his life. So many stories of a man who not only knew you, but was able to see the depths of your character and demand the best in you. How do we honor such a giant of a man?

Mark loved the movies. He would gather his students in the auditorium and bring the classics to life. He loved foreign films from every decade. He could quote full scenes from Marx Brothers movies. And in retirement he taught adult film classes at Dartmouth. His family and I thought a fitting tribute to Mark would be to create an amphitheater in his memory. A place where children and adults could gather and watch movies, listen to music, see plays and even perform themselves. The place we picked is a Masiaka, Sierra Leone. It's a long way from Brooklyn, but it is the perfect place.

Some background

In 2003, my wife, Sheri Saltzberg, and I created a non-profit called the U.S. - Africa Children's Fellowship to support the education of children in Africa. Over the years, we shipped 60 40-foot containers to schools in Zimbabwe, Ghana, South Africa, Tanzania, Nigeria, Uganda, and Sierra Leone. More than a million children have taken our books home to read. The impact of the program has been enormous.

About a year and a half ago, my wife passed away. My children and I decided we wanted to do something substantial to honor her memory. We chose to build a community learning center in Sierra Leone. The center will have a library, a digital library and a vocational training program. MIT students designed the center, which is pictured above. It should be completed by the end of November 2022.

Build a Space in Memory of Mark, the Great Raconteur

Sorious Samura, one of Sierra Leone's awarding winning filmmakers, strongly believes that due to colonization and a brutal 10 years civil war that most Sierra Leoneans have lost the connection to their own history. He believes that storytelling, movies and historical plays can help to bridge the gap to the past. Our flexible-use amphitheater can provide a venue for all of this. Sorious has agreed to work with us and will come to the Centre to speak. What a fitting gesture -- in honor of Mark -- to have a place for community bonding to happen. If Mark was still here selecting the movies, in addition to Sturgis, Coppola or Bergman, he would add the likes of Sembene, Dash and Akomfrah.

How to help make this happen

MIT architecture students will design the new amphitheater. We estimate the cost to be around $15,000. You are invited to give what you can and spread the word. We are certain that there are hundreds of people that would have come to Lincoln or been on the Zoom call to take part in the Memorial, if only they had known. Please reach out to your circle of Lincoln friends and tell them what we are trying to do. We do not have the emails to the people who were on the Zoom Memorial call.

Give $100 or more to be a founding donor (Donate Here)

Your donation will lay the groundwork for the creation of an amphitheater that will not only honor Mark Lewis' memory, but will also touch thousands of lives in Masiaka. Your early support inspires others to donate. Mark Grashow

This project beautifully manifests our father’s interests and priorities -- film obviously, the role of culture in education, civil rights and help and educating those who traditionally lacked access and support, and, of course, supporting the morally and ethically exemplary work of his old and dear friend Mark. Eric Lewis & Lisa Lewis Espenshade