Monique Roberson (L) interviews Dyanna Knight Lewis (R), publisher of The Chicago Defender.
As part of our “Voices of Influence: 120 Years of the Chicago Defender” series, I sat down with Dyanna Knight Lewis, the force behind the Defender’s storied Women of Excellence awards.
During Women’s History Month, it felt especially fitting to spotlight the woman who has helped elevate the brilliance of more than 850 Black women since 2007—leaders, visionaries, and community builders. “We were told, ‘You’ll never be able to keep this up,’” Dyanna said. “Well, we haven’t run out yet.” This year alone, more than 400 nominations poured in.
The awards have become more than a ceremony. For many honorees, it’s their first real moment of recognition in a city that too often overlooks their contributions.
Dyanna knows that feeling. Long before she became publisher, she was just a girl who showed up at a Gwendolyn Brooks poetry reading—and ended up featured in the Defender. “I thought I was famous,” she laughed. “We bought every copy we could.”
Eighteen years later, Dyanna is now the Defender’s longest-serving woman publisher and a regional VP at Real Times Media. She led the newspaper’s digital transformation in 2019—a bold move that stirred strong opinions but widened its reach to over 100,000 monthly online visitors. And yet, her core mission remains unchanged. “I love the work I do,” she told me.
Dyanna’s story is emblematic of the Defender’s legacy: a young girl once seen in its pages, now leading it into the future. Whether she’s preparing for Women of Excellence or nudging the men to answer their emails for the upcoming Men of Excellence, she stays rooted in purpose.
“They are seen,” she said. “And if they were never seen before, that moment makes all the difference.”
Watch my one-on-one interview with this phenomenal woman heading a historic publication:
