Columbia activist, problem solver Sonya Lewis died doing what she loved. Helping others
In the final moments before she was struck and killed by a vehicle on Saturday, Dr. Sonya Davis-Lewis was busy doing what she had always done: serving others.
The 56-year-old social worker and community activist had earned a reputation in the Midlands as a go-to problem solver and champion of the underdog.
When people didn’t know where to turn, they turned to Lewis, said her friend and former Columbia City Council member Tameika Isaac Devine. “People trusted her. That’s what made her such a good advocate, she was just a regular person out there helping other regular people.”
Last year, when 16-year old Michael Thomas was killed in a hit and run accident on Fairfield Road, his family reached out to Lewis, according to her son, Jerry Hammond III. “She connected them with the sheriff’s department and advocated for them to get more information about the case,” he said.
On Saturday Lewis was killed at the same site where Thomas’ life had been taken exactly a year before. She was there attending a memorial service for the boy when a man drove into the crowd and hit her.
The 64-year-old driver was arrested and charged with reckless vehicular homicide, hit and run resulting in death, hit and run resulting in great bodily injury, and hit and run resulting in minor personal injury, jail records show.
Hammond said his mother pushed him and his 5-year-old son out of the way, sacrificing herself to save them. His son ended up with a broken leg, and Hammond sustained only minor injuries.
“We got hit but we didn’t get the full impact like she did,” he said. “I would not be here if it were not for her.”
Lewis wore many hats over the years, working various jobs at Blue Cross Blue Shield, the state Department of Health and Environmental Control and the state Department of Social Services.
But she is perhaps best known for the work she did off the clock as a grassroots organizer who championed countless causes ranging from racial justice to affordable housing.
Lewis’ personal experience as a survivor of sexual and domestic abuse provoked her to start speaking up for others. She volunteered with several local organizations supporting survivors of gender-based violence and went on to found her own non-profit, My Sister’s Voice, according to Devine.
In the summer of 2020, Lewis formed the grassroots group One Common Cause along with local activists John Tyler and Jerome Bowers. The three met while protesting a racist incident that took place at a Columbia beauty supply shop.
“There was a 17-year-old Black autistic boy there that was accused of stealing (by an employee) and he was assaulted at the store,” said Tyler.
Lewis posted about the incident online, which sparked outrage and caused some to boycott the store. Instead of leaving the situation unsettled, though, Lewis, Tyler, and Bowers worked with the store owners to come up with a solution that involved firing the employee at the center of the incident and hiring a Black employee.
Lewis’ ability to gain tangible results set her apart from other activists, said James T McLawhorn, president of the Columbia Urban League.
“Anyone can come and point out inequalities but she worked harder to actually resolve them,” he said. “She was good at navigating complex systems of government and law and media and acting as a liaison for people who didn’t know how to do that.”
Lewis’ daughter, Latoya Davis-Fordham, said her mother had a hard time turning down anyone in need.
“We would always tell her, ‘mom you can’t help everyone,’ and she’d say ‘well I’m going to try.’”
Despite this, she never let her activism get in the way of her family life. Fordham said she remembers watching her mother juggle work and night school, all while caring for five children.
“She would be studying with a baby in her lap,” she said. Still Lewis always managed to make time for fun things like beach days and trips to the nail salon. Whenever one of her children or grandchildren needed her, she was just a phone call away.
“She was my best friend,” said Fordham.
Lewis is survived by her husband, Clarence Lewis; five children, Latoya Davis-Fordham, James Hammond, Ervin Hammond, Shantee’ Hammond, Jerry Hammond III; and 28 grandchildren.
This story was originally published May 11, 2022 at 12:07 PM.
