William Henry Lewis

William Henry Lewis (November 28, 1868 – January 1, 1949) was an African-American pioneer in athletics, law and politics. Born in Virginia to freedmen, he graduated from Amherst College in Massachusetts, where he had been one of the first African-American college football players. After going to Harvard Law School and continuing to play football, Lewis was the first African American in the sport to be selected as an All-American. In 1903 he was the first African American to be appointed as an Assistant United States Attorney; in 1910 he was the first to be appointed as one of the five United States Assistant Attorneys General, despite opposition by the Southern Democratic block. In 1911 he was among the first African Americans to be admitted to the American Bar Association. When Lewis was appointed as an Assistant Attorney General in 1910 by President William Howard Taft, it was reported to be "the highest office in an executive branch of the government ever held by a member of that race." He was one of four African Americans appointed to high office by Taft and known as his "Black Cabinet". Before being appointed as an AAG, Lewis had served for 12 years as a football coach at Harvard University. During that period, he wrote one of the first books on football tactics and was known as a national expert on the game. Early years Lewis was born in Berkley, Virginia in 1868, the son of former slaves of European and African ancestry. His father moved the family to Portsmouth, where he became a respected minister. His parents stressed education. After local schooling, at age 15 Lewis enrolled in the state's recently established, historically black college, the Virginia Normal and Collegiate Institute (now Virginia State University).