Karen Lewis
Karen Lewis (née Jennings;[2][3] July 20, 1953 – February 7, 2021)[4][5][6] was an American educator and labor leader who served as president of the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU), Chicago's division of the American Federation of Teachers, from 2010 to 2014. For nearly 20 years before becoming president of the teachers union, she was a high school chemistry teacher.[7]
This article is about the American labor leader. For other people with the same name, see Karen Lewis (disambiguation).
Karen Lewis
Marilyn Stewart[1]
February 7, 2021 (aged 67)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Mount Holyoke College (no degree)
Dartmouth College (BA)
Northeastern Illinois University (MA)
- chemistry teacher
- labor leader
Early life[edit]
Karen Jennings was born on July 20, 1953, in Chicago's South Side to a family of teachers.[8][9] She attended Kenwood High School, but left after her junior year to attend Mount Holyoke College. Lewis said Mount Holyoke "taught [her] you can do anything [...] to use your mind well [...] to express yourself."[10] She transferred to Dartmouth College in 1972, when Dartmouth became the last Ivy League institution to become co-educational,[11] and was the only African-American woman in the class of 1974.[8] However, she said at Dartmouth "it was clear that women weren't wanted" and called the university "a really bad experience for me, but it made me stronger."[9] She graduated with a degree in sociology and music.[12] After graduation, she married Arnold Glenn and moved to Oklahoma; the couple later divorced.[9] She then earned a Master of Arts degree in inner city studies from Northeastern Illinois University.[13]
Personal life and death[edit]
In 1993, Lewis, who was previously a Lutheran, converted to Judaism.[3] She told the Chicago Jewish News in 2013 that she wore a necklace of the Star of David every day.[3] An opera aficionado, she spoke French, Italian, and Latin, and played flute and piano.[12]
On October 9, 2014, Lewis was hospitalized for a "serious illness".[27] On October 13, a source confirmed that Lewis had been diagnosed with glioblastoma, a cancerous brain tumor.[28][9] On February 7, 2021, Lewis died at age 67.[4][5][6] Following her death, the CTU put out a statement saying "Karen did not just lead our movement. Karen was our movement. She bowed to no one, and gave strength to tens of thousands of Chicago Teachers Union educators who followed her lead, and who live by her principles to this day,"[29] and the union told The New York Times that she "dazzled you with her smile, yet could stare down the most powerful enemies of public education and defend our institution with a force rarely seen in organized labor."[9] She received tributes from Emanuel, current Mayor Lori Lightfoot and U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders.[7]