[1] She received Distinguished Artist Award for Lifetime Achievement from the College Art Association (CAA) in 2021.

Lewis completed four degrees, five films, seven books, and a substantial body of artworks which have received critical respect.

[5] In 1973, she served on the selection committee for the exhibition BLACKS: USA: 1973 held at the New York Cultural Center.

In 1976, she founded the Museum of African-American Art[13] with a group of artistic, academic, business and community leaders in Los Angeles, California.

[5] These founders had similar goals, including increasing the public's awareness of African American art.

[14] Lewis, as the staff's senior curator in the museum, not only organized a great number of exhibitions but also developed diverse ways of educating the public on African American arts.

[9] Lewis was an NAACP member, and a collector of art with her collection including African, Chinese, Asian, South American, and other works.

The exhibition was accompanied by a full-color catalogue with text by art writer and critic Suzanne Muchnic.

The show launched their recruitment efforts for 500 black American artists to participate in the updated volumes.