BARTOW, Fla. (WFLA) — Clifton P. Lewis, a champion of Black history and the director of the L.B. Brown Heritage Festival in Bartow, has died at the age of 82, city officials said.
The City of Bartow announced his death in a social media post, saying Bartow “lost an icon this past Sunday.” Officials said Lewis succumbed to a prolonged battle with cancer.
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Lewis left his mark on the city, having served at the festival’s director for more than two decades. He hosted the annual event at the L.B. Brown House, which he helped save from demolition in the 1990s.
The historic Victoria-style house was constructed in 1892 by Lawrence Bernard Brown, a self-taught carpenter who was born into slavery. It was left abandoned after Brown’s granddaughter died, but Lewis led efforts to restore the home.
The L.B. Brown House was ultimately transformed into a museum and is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places and honored in the Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Culture…