LESTER LEWIS
Author • Historian • Pan-African Activist
Lester Lewis, also known as Prince Ntumba Azah (1945–2007), was a legendary author, historian and Pan-African activist who left a lasting legacy in the Borough of Hackney.
As the founder of the revolutionary Hackney Black Peoples Association, he campaigned tirelessly for racial justice both locally and worldwide. Through his work, he fostered vital spaces for knowledge exchange, forged meaningful diasporic connections and promoted positive representations of Black heritage that defied dominant Western narratives.
Why Hackney Matters
Hackney was central to Lester Lewis’s work as an author, historian and advocate for Black communities. Through the Hackney Black People’s Association, he helped create spaces where community activism, education and African history could come together, connecting local activism with wider Black political and cultural movements. He organised educational lectures across the borough, including at Hackney Town Hall, covering subjects such as ancient African civilisations including Kemet, Yoruba cosmology and the education of Black children, challenging the absence of Black history and discrimination within the mainstream Eurocentric British curriculum. His involvement in the Colin Roach campaign further reflected his commitment to community-led activism and challenging injustices affecting Hackney’s Black communities.
Did You Know?
Lester Lewis helped connect Hackney’s Black community with influential international activists and historical figures. Through the Hackney Black People’s Association, he organised Kwame Ture’s eight-city tour of Britain and brought him to Hackney. Alongside hosting Sam Greenlee, author of The Spook Who Sat by the Door, making Hackney part of a wider significant international Black political and literary network.