In Memoriam: Carl V. Lewis

On Saturday we learned that we lost Carl Lewis, our friend and team member. Carl was a Georgia native and passionate civic tech activist in Savannah and he was one of the founding board members of Reform Georgia.

Carl founded Open Savannah, a Code for America brigade that worked on creating civic tech solutions to address community challenges and advocating for equity and justice.

You can read a memoriam from Jennifer Pahlka, Code for America Executive Director here. It illustrates how his impact extended far beyond Georgia’s borders. His obituary and online memorial wall can be found here.

I only had the privilege of knowing Carl since early 2018 when we started having conversations about turning the community group Reform Savannah into a bigger vision that became Reform Georgia. Darby said she had the perfect person to help us start the organization and be part of the team. She was right.

Carl really exemplified the impact that a single dedicated individual can have upon their community and the world around them.

He was passionate and dedicated in his effort to make Savannah a better community for everyone and he was adamant about working in collaboration with those who had been left out of the conversation, not to try to speak for them. In the face of frustration and unwillingness to change from existing systems and structures, Carl just wanted to help find solutions and to help DO the work with others.

I would see him leave comments on the City of Savannah’s Facebook page pushing them to do better and offering to help. They once posted an ugly graphic that was hard to read and he would ask them to let him make it better. I would joke with him over text message about what I thought was justifiable teasing of the city but he would tell me no – he didn’t mean it that way. He cared about what they were trying to do, and he wanted to help. The organization he founded, Open Savannah, continues to make Savannah a better city and is just part of his legacy. If you’re a Savannah local, consider getting involved.

I was rarely prepared for how genuine Carl was. He threw me off balance regularly, and I’m still grateful for those gut check moments.

It was with that spirit that Carl always came into the conversation. How can we help? How can we do things better? How can we include those who have been left out of the conversation?

At the end of September, Reform Georgia had our first strategic planning retreat as a team to talk about our goals and vision for 2020. Carl was in the midst of cleaning out the Open Savannah office because they were moving to a new office location and his fellowship funding had not been renewed by the county so he was planning to move on to something new and was moving out of his apartment. We were excited for what his next opportunity would be. I was selfishly hopeful he might move to Atlanta where we could benefit from his passion.

There were some notes on the board from our brainstorm discussions and he added to them, numbered them, and sent a photo with the message, “shared vision and norms.”

1. Show what’s possible.
2. Tell a story.
3. Strong data and emotional stories equal success.
4. Build a movement.

That was his line, “Build a movement.” He’d posted a photo of it spelled out on his light board on Facebook just a couple weeks earlier. It’s not a message we will easily forget.

Carl’s departure has left a hole in our world – one that is uniquely his own. Our team has only seem glimpses of the impact he has had on his friends, family, and colleagues, and the work he’s done around the country and beyond. He has left behind his thoughtful insights and inspiration to help us continue the work he believed in and to continue upholding the values he championed while he was with us. Let us try to honor his memory in that way.

Thank you, Carl. We miss you.