Ananda Lewis Deserved Grace, Not Judgment, In Life And Death

Ananda was an “it girl,” but she was more than a pretty face with a cute shape. She was intelligent and insightful first–and won two NAACP Image Awards for her reporting on BET and MTV. Everyone wanted to be close to her because she made everyone feel known and understood. Ananda was so popular, she secured her own nationally syndicated daytime talk show, The Ananda Lewis Show, at the age of 28. For context, the daytime field was crowded in 2001; she premiered her show while Oprah, Sally Jessy Raphael, Ricki Lake and Jerry Springer were still going strong on air, each with multiple seasons under their belts. Ananda’s foray into the daytime space lasted two seasons, but she got a lot done, tackling hard subjects for her audience of young parents, new career women and pop culture enthusiasts who cared about the world they lived in, which had just been rocked by 9/11.

We often talk about living our best lives, on our own terms. For modern Black women, this is crucial: we understand the consequences of not taking care of ourselves, of prioritizing others ahead of ourselves. The impact is visceral and sometimes, cellular. And when we seek medical care, we aren’t believed or listened to the same way other Americans are. Whether the Black woman is elite athlete Serena Williams who had to advocate for herself with doctors, or registered nurse Adriana Smith, who was denied that right by the state of Georgia, whose laws turned an expectant mother into a brain-dead incubator at 9 weeks pregnant, vigilance and bodily autonomy are a life and death proposition. 

After voting to prevent the chaos of the current occupant of the White House, we as Black women have doubled down on community, self-preservation, and rest. We’re opting out of being under assault on every possible metric and turning inward, supporting one another with travel, enjoyment, and a full recalibration of energy expenditure. We are more intentional about living how we want than we’ve ever been. All of this underscores that as much as we stand on business for how we live, everyone deserves to have agency over how they will die once confronted with that reality. Ananda Lewis controlled how she would take her leave on her terms, as best as any person fighting cancer can. Ananda chose to manage her diagnosis and treatment. This meant that the thief we know as cancer was neutralized when it came to stealing her purpose and her joy for seven years post-diagnosis. This meant that she, not the cancer, determined her quality of life. (To be clear, I’m not talking about the very important aspects of estate planning. I have no window into how Lewis planned for those she loved upon her passing.)

While her choice felt painful to those of us who watched her routinely on TV, I understood it intimately. My own mother opted out of chemotherapy once diagnosed with an aggressive form of melanoma. She didn’t want to be violently ill for most of her remaining days, spending more time in hospitals than on her ranch in Squaw Valley, where she enjoyed unobstructed views of The Milky Way and the soft braying of her horse, Little Star. Five months after being diagnosed, She passed away peacefully at home, surrounded by family. And while my family’s missing of Fulani Mshaka is eternal, knowing she lived her last days as she wished gave us comfort. Sadly, Ananda faced judgment and vitriol for the choices she made along her own healing journey. After giving much of her adult life to her informing and entertaining us, she deserved much better than that.

Let us not be reductive in our memory of Ananda Lewis. Black women already endure more of this than we deserve. Her talk show opened the door for Jennifer Hudson and Kelly Clarkson–recording artists turned talk show hosts who, in another era, would be deemed too young, loud, wild and heavy to helm their own shows. Ananda Lewis modeled fly girls asking hard questions, putting rappers in check, and understanding that her audience was smarter than their parents believed them to be. Ananda Lewis was a transformative figure for women of color in broadcast journalism and popular culture. When we don’t lead with her wins and her impact, we let cancer share the spotlight she and she alone earned and deserved.

Thembisa S. Mshaka (@officiallipgame) is an award-winning creative who, during her tenure at Sony Music, selected and directed Lewis in the role of promotional campaign voiceover artist for Survivor, the 12x platinum album by Destiny’s Child. She is the author of forthcoming second edition of Put Your Dreams First: Handle Your [entertainment] Business (Red Sky Presents).

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