Dr. Jacquelyn Lewis-Harris is a retired Associate Professor in both Anthropology and the College of Education at the University of Missouri (UMSL). She was the first African American curator hired by the Saint Louis Art Museum and later recruited by UMSL to become the Director of the Connecting Human Origin and Cultural Diversity program. Her research is a synthesis of cultural anthropology and social justice education, integrating her roles of educator, writer, artist, anthropologist and curator to address the important issues of race, cultural diversity, social segregation and the presentation of minority cultures in a public forum. She was acknowledged for her research and community commitment through the Arts and Education Association award for Community Collaboration, the UMSL Trailblazer Award, as well as the Ferguson Human Rights Commission Advocate of the year award. Her book chapters, exhibition publications and scholarly articles, cover a wide range of culturally related research published in the Race, Class and Gender Journal, Journal of Gerontological Social Work, Anthropology News and the International Journal of Literacy and Education. In her current capacity as consultant and board member for several community organizations, she promotes regional St. Louis community-building education programs; civic education; Ferguson community policing; and racial and ethnic awareness through the arts.
