About

Greetings, my name is R. L’Heureux Lewis and I am an Assistant Professor of Sociology and Black Studies at the City College of New York – CUNY. I specialize in racial and ethnic relations with research and activism that concentrates on educational inequality, race-related public policy, and mental health functioning.

The changing national and international landscape necessitate deeper, more sustainable, and meaningful conversations and research. In my work, I press to provide rigorous, historically grounded, context-rich analysis of problems facing the United States and the African Diaspora.

In the area of education, my research concentrates on expanding conversations and deepening analysis around educational inequality to get beyond discussions of “achievement gaps” and develop sustainable equality inducing policies. I am currently completing my book, Inequality in the Promised Land, which uses original qualitative and quantitative data to tackle the meaning and influence of race and class in ethnically and economically diverse schools. I have lectured and been a featured expert on the role of race in the contemporary political landscape, urban-suburban regional issues, and Affirmative Action.

In the area of mental health, my research explores the relationship between racial identity and mental health functioning. Some of my past and current work covers issues such as racial identity, perceived discrimination, and psychological functioning among people of color.

Currently I am an Assistant Professor of Sociology and Black Studies at The City College of New York – CUNY. My commentary and analyses have been featured in national and regional media outlets such as the Detroit Free Press, Diversity in Higher Education, Fox News, Keep Hope Alive Radio with Jesse Jackson, National Public Radio, Newsweek.com, TheRoot.com, and US World News Report.

I maintain a weblog which I regularly update entitled Uptown Notes. Through these mediums I hope to continue to expand and enrich dialogues about common and uncommon social issues that face our communities. I hold a Ph.D. in Public Policy and Sociology from the University of Michigan and a B.A. in Sociology from Morehouse College.