As part of NBC’s Making History Today series:

Name: Tony Lewis Jr.

Education: Gonzaga College High School, The University of D.C.

Occupation: Vocational development coordinator, Chairman of the Mayors Commission on Reentry and Returning Citizen Affairs, author, community activist, mentor and advocate for children with incarcerated parents.

His Story: D.C. native Tony Lewis Jr., known to some as “Slugg,” lived a comfortable life until his father, Tony Lewis Sr., was arrested in 1989. Tony Lewis Sr. is serving a life sentence in a federal penitentiary for his role in a crack cocaine distribution network led by his partner, Rayful Edmond III. Crack ravaged D.C. in the mid-1980s and early 1990s, when the murder rate skyrocketed.

Making History: Tony Lewis Jr. was just nine years old when his father was taken away; his life became traumatic. His family moved back to Hanover Place in northwest Washington. Prison visits became the new normal. There was violence in his community, and his mother began suffering from mental illness. But Tony beat the odds, and now mentors young people who are trying to reclaim their own lives.

For more information, visit his website.

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