The Spirit of The Most High go before us and guides us on our earthly journey to evaluate truths and contribute to the development of our brothers and sisters in far reaches of the earth. Elijah Lewis Jr. was born from a long lineage of historical family of Pastors, Levis and as the most high God guides his children to the path wherein they should walk, he continues to guide Elijah’s steps.
Elijah Lewis Jr. Thought Leader, Producer, Emmy Award Winning Cinematographer are some of the titles he currently holds. Elijah has visions of how DP Interactive will “create and deliver experiences through artistic visual communications as CEO and Creative Director. Black History Month celebrates Mr. Elijah Lewis Jr. for shining in the darkness and using his God given talents at home in Natchez and abroad. We were privileged to have a brief conversation with him:
L&S: Tell us about Elijah.
I was born and raised here in Natchez, Mississippi. My mom, Mary Lewis is from Louisiana and my dad, Pastor Elijah Lewis Senior is from Mississippi. The church they leaded is called Murray’s Temple in Church of God in Christ, located on 5. Perrault Street. I also have two other brothers who pastor here in Natchez as well. Dywon now pastors Murray’s Temple and Rehoboth Church of God in Christ in Sibley and Roderick, pastors Great Words Church of God in Christ also additionally, he is the pastor of New Beginnings Baptist Church. We come from a long lineage of historical family of pastors.
L&S: I see that, and why you’re not a pastor too?
I am. I call myself the Digital Pastor. Through consultancy, I see myself as a bridge for non-profits and church executives’ leadership to transition to digital content enabling them to be sustainable within this new era. Some of the main churches I have worked with includes DWO Church, Straight Gate Church, West Angeles Church of God in Christ, Dr. Dave Martin Motor City Church (A Hillsong Church) in Troy, Michigan, as a matter of fact, the list is extensive.
L&S: Did you go to school here?
I did. I went to what was called North Natchez High. During the time when I grew up, there were two public high schools: North Natchez and South Natchez. Where Natchez High is located today is where South Natchez presided. North Natchez was mostly black, South Natchez was basically the mixed version of the high school. And which is very interesting because in the ‘80s, and ‘90s, imagine that was still happening. So most people don’t want to tell that story about Natchez, but maybe that’s a story for another day.
L&S: I learnt that the schools were integrated in 1976? Correct?
Yeah, but in 1989, we were still separated, North Natchez was black. South Natchez was basically white and black. My discipline was Engineering and Music, and coming out of those two disciplines, I decided to move to Detroit as I wanted to work in the Auto Industry.
L&S: And how did that go?
It went pretty well. I went to school at Wayne State University for Electrical Engineering, and I ended up working for a company called Zicom where we built computer motherboards for the stock market main frames, also 3 M Healthcare. Three M Healthcare was at the time building the machine called “the quantum – for the heart and lungs”, like a defibrillator, and everything had kind of gotten boring and repetitive at that point. But this was also around the time when Tech and media was starting to grow, so I went back to school for Sound Engineering, and when I did that, Sound Engineering took me to a lot of different areas. Both my brothers and I were in Detroit together.
When did you leave Natchez?
I graduated high school at 16 and left Natchez, went to the Detroit area, I turned 17 on October 28 and started college in the fall. While we were there, we met Dr. Mattie Moss Clark, Sister Clark, in the gospel industry in Detroit. My brothers and I were able to meet all of the people in the gospel circuit, so we got plugged into that. The Winans, The Clark Sisters, The Commissions, all of the gospel industry people. We were able to make some waves. A lot of those people are my friends now. So, you know, it became such an amazing thing. Before, I was looking at and listening to the material they created, and now I can just call them personal friends.
That’s why I encourage people to just lock in their dreams and go for them; picture them, then picture yourself doing them. That journey was amazing. So, that was the beginning of it. I came out of that and got involved in a lot of different things, consulting for churches, and working for different people, and then working in film followed.
I wanted to do motion graphics for show openers and stuff like that. One of the first ones I did was for Mary-Mary show tour opener. And after that, there was another gospel group in New Jersey on Interscope GospoCentric Label called Natalie Wilson and SOP. Me and my friend Joe Wilson got together, and he produced the album called “THE GOOD LIFE. Joe, Flip Wilson, and Rodney Jerkins, produced that record together and I produce all the intros, sounds design, segways and special effects. From there, I went into the music aspect, and I started doing more of the visual stuff; but in the beginning, it was audio intros and segways; we did the ‘Cheetah Girls’ last tour, Lady Gaga, Monster Ball -Tour from Atlantic City to New York to DC, and HBO special. So that was the music world. And then, I came out of that and got into commercials, becoming a Producer and Creative Director.
L&S: So, what are you working on right now?
I am headed back to Johannesburg, and I’m starting on a couple of films that I am in queue to make. You ever heard of Kings of Joburg? Johannesburg is becoming big on Netflix. I have met some of the people. A friend of mine named Samad Davis from New Jersey, Executive Producer of King’s of Joburg and many more films.
I have also met Actor Connie Ferguson and Owner of Ferguson Films, and I have managed created a networked there, and they have queued me in to be a consultant for some of the films that are coming through. The thing that I’m personally working on is a project called ‘The Return of the Royals’. It’s going to be a documentary and a film that I’m putting together that is going to uncover the continent. What I’m personally working on is ‘The Return of the Royals Docuseries’ I have all of this documented.
L&S: The Royals? You mean the Queens and Kings from way back in the day? going?
Not exactly. I am going to deal with it in two parts; what’s currently happening, and then I’m going to film what’s going to happen. ‘Return the Royals’ means, for me, the people who have been displaced, being returned, that’s another thing – repatriation. That is one aspect. Also, highlighting the people who are already there and bringing their stories forward; exploring culture and what that really means.
The name ‘The Return of the Royals’ came from me visiting South Africa for the first time. I was going to South Africa basically as a tourist to visit as this would have been my first time tracing my roots back to the Lemba tribe. So, I called some friends that I know, and they were like, hey, maybe you can visit some royalty while you are there. My first contact was Lady Tee Thompson, a Gender Equality Executive Advocate and Executive Director of Argrobiz.org. So, she called and said, “Well, let’s meet and talk to the kings and queens of that region.” And so, I ended up going for cinematic research on rural agriculture, equality, tourism, and traditional leaders in the rural area of Free State. I was joined by the chairman of the Collen Mashawana Foundation, Philanthropist, Mr. Collen Mashawana.
When I arrived there, I was given royal treatment. I was able to see that their story wasn’t told. And so now, this woman, “Her Majesty Kgosi Gaboilelwe Moroka” the real women king of Thaba Nchu, South Africa another brilliant untold story. My goal with this film is to take their stories to the world. Everybody is coming to see this Kgosi (chief), because she is one of the first women chiefs in South Africa, because the line of men is gone. So, she is called the woman king. Remember the movie the “Woman King”. Take that same concept, that is happening in life right now. I’m helping develop stuff here and bringing stuff to their region. It is amazing, the potential quality stuff that is being presented. Partnering with them is like a dream fulfilled. So, I’m starting right there with ‘The Return of the Royals’ because she just returned.
I’m known for my high-quality work, I have a team of amazing skilled people, and will also be training and building local people to join the team.
The producer in me is coming forth. The creative genius in me is fighting to explode all over “The Return of the Royals” to leave a legacy that will be remembered for all times. As a people, every significant step counts in the journey to capturing this incredible story.
Be sure to follow Elijah Lewis Jr, DP Interactive LLC, on elijahlewisjr.com and Instagram: elijahlewisjr – email: elijahlewis@me.com Come with him as he answers “THE CALL FROM HOME”.
