The Pensole Lewis College of Business and Design is Officially Michigan’s First HBCU

Sneaker industry legend Dwayne Edwards was determined to bring back Michigan’s first and only historically Black university in October. The Lewis College of Business, founded by the late Violet T. Lewis, closed in 2013. The school meant a lot to the Detroit area, and Edwards wanted to do more than just honor the past but rather bring the school into the future.

“Weâ€re going down uncharted territory in two different lanes,” Edwards said in an interview with Footwear News back in October. “I am not a politician. I am not even interested in politics, and this is really my first time meeting politicians, and theyâ€ve been phenomenal,” Edwards said. “They all knew about the school and were sad that it closed, and now theyâ€re excited that someone wants to take it on and reopen it because of how much it meant to the city of Detroit. GM and Ford, and Michigan Bell, all of their first Black office employees, came from this college. To be able to reopen a college that had so much significance to the city and paved the way for diversity within its largest industries, thatâ€s part of history that should have never went away.”

On December 28, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced the signing of House Bill 5447 and 5448, which will facilitate the reopening of the Lewis College of Business as the Pensole Lewis College of Business and Design in Detroit, making it Michiganâ€s first and only HBCU.

“I am proud to play a part in helping reopen the Pensole Lewis College of Business and Design in Detroit,” Whitmer said in a statement to Footwear News. “I am committed to expanding educational opportunities for Michiganders across our state to put Michigan first.”

Before it moves to its permanent Detroit campus, Pensole Lewis College of Business and Design will be located in Detroit’s College for Creative Studies A. Alfred Taubman Center for Design Education, as originally intended back in October when the announcement to reopen the HBCU was made.

“Thank you to Governor Whitmer and all of our partners for helping the grandchildren of Violet T. Lewis, Pensole and College for Creative Studies establish an HBCU in the state of Michigan,” Edwards said in a statement. “Our goal is to celebrate Violet T. Lewis†lifeâ€s work she established in the city of Detroit in 1939. Today moves us forward to another major step in continuing her legacy with the support of our founding partners College for Creative Studies, Target, and The Gilbert Family Foundation.”

The school officially opens in March 2022.

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