Guest Profile
Cathie Wright-Lewis
CATHIE WRIGHT-LEWIS
In 2014, newly retired teacher, Cathie Wright-Lewis met with curator, Miriam
Robertson of The Brownsville Heritage House to propose her dream to begin a
community-based workshop for residents of Brownsville, her childhood
neighborhood. As a result, she continues to serve as the director of the Power in the
Pen Writer’s Workshop – a creator’s incubator space.
As a native of the Brownsville section of Brooklyn, her life was greatly
impacted by the 60’s Busing program for integration and the battle for community
control she witnessed in her neighborhood. At ten years of age, she participated in
the demonstrations at JHS 271 in Ocean Hill Brownsville during the nation’s first
teachers strike.
As a result, fulfilling the charge “to give back” and be the teacher she and her
peers rarely had, for 35 years Cathie molded urban youth, young writers and
teachers as a middle and high school educator and adjunct professor in Bedford
Stuyvesant, Brownsville and Crown Heights. Her work in education has been
documented in: NY Times articles by journalist Felicia Lee, Annenberg’s, The
Expanding Canon (video and website) – Teaching Multicultural Literature, Black
Literate Lives by Dr. Maisha Wynn and a host of periodicals.
In 2001, Cathie published, Maurya’s Seed – Why Hope Lives Behind Project
Walls. She has just completed the 20 th year anniversary re-release. And after retiring
in 2013, the sequel, Passion’s Pride – Return to the Dawning. In 2015 she
published, Mama Relly, her first children’s book series, which is illustrated by her
daughter.
Lastly, she is currently completing, Miracle - the third book in her allegorical
Afro-futuristic trilogy. “First Flight” is an excerpt from Miracle.
Also known as Coach Cathie she serves as a spiritual life coach to women of
African descent. She aligns all of her work with spirituality. Whether through her
Afro-futuristic writing, counseling or teaching, Cathie enjoys sharing beautiful
messages and stories of hope and triumph.
