Lois Moses, M.F.A., J.D., M.A.
Lois Moses, Esq. is an award-winning actress, filmmaker, playwright, poet, lawyer, and clinician whose multidisciplinary work centers on ancestral memory, social justice, and the sacred stories of African American women. A graduate of UCLA’s MFA Acting program, Lois has toured nationally, performed in three Off-Broadway productions, and directed numerous stage and film works. Her acclaimed play Say That He Had More Than a Dream, which examines the final year of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s life following his “Beyond Vietnam” speech, premiered at Philadelphia’s First World Theatre and toured to Houston’s MATCH Theatre. It was nominated for Best New Work by BroadwayWorld in 2016.
Lois’ award-winning short film And They Jumped into the Water…Some was featured at Optik Illusion, Films to the People Festival, and Scribe Video Center’s Street Movies, and was recently licensed by NBC’s Grand Crew. She also co-created COVID 1619, a four-part anthology exploring how racism and the pandemic converged in the lives of Black and Brown Philadelphians—earning recognition across multiple film festivals.
As a poet and spoken word artist, Lois has published three collections--Not Just Another… Black/Woman, Missing Pages… (Women Behind the Glass Door), and A Timely Trinity—as well as a self-titled spoken word CD. Her work is deeply grounded in African diasporic spiritual traditions and guided by communion with ancestral (S)heroes, whose lives serve as blueprints for resistance, healing, and transformation.
Currently pursuing her PhD in Transformative Studies at CIIS, Lois' research centers on the Sheroes’ Journey, an African-centered, culturally-rooted framework that reclaims the heroic narrative through the lived experiences, spiritual power, and cultural memory of African American women. Her dissertation explores how ancestral storytelling, sacred ritual, and collective healing practices create modern-day hush harbors—spaces of refuge, resilience, and revolutionary self-making for Black women and girls. Through this work, Lois seeks to reframe liberation not as a solitary act, but as a communal, intergenerational, and spirit-guided path toward wholeness.
Lois is the co-founder of SIFTMedia 215 Collective, a non-profit Philadelphia-based Women of Color film collective dedicated to supporting socially conscious storytelling. She also serves on the board of Big Picture Alliance, a nonprofit that empowers Philadelphia youth to define their own narratives through filmmaking and digital media arts.
She is currently developing two major projects: Epistles of Love: The Gospels According to Edgar and Clara, a graphic nonfiction novel and film based on her ancestors’ love story during the Great Migration; and Justice for Matt, a dramatic film exploring (S)heroism, familial healing, and the pursuit of justice.
Lois’ award-winning short film And They Jumped into the Water…Some was featured at Optik Illusion, Films to the People Festival, and Scribe Video Center’s Street Movies, and was recently licensed by NBC’s Grand Crew. She also co-created COVID 1619, a four-part anthology exploring how racism and the pandemic converged in the lives of Black and Brown Philadelphians—earning recognition across multiple film festivals.
As a poet and spoken word artist, Lois has published three collections--Not Just Another… Black/Woman, Missing Pages… (Women Behind the Glass Door), and A Timely Trinity—as well as a self-titled spoken word CD. Her work is deeply grounded in African diasporic spiritual traditions and guided by communion with ancestral (S)heroes, whose lives serve as blueprints for resistance, healing, and transformation.
Currently pursuing her PhD in Transformative Studies at CIIS, Lois' research centers on the Sheroes’ Journey, an African-centered, culturally-rooted framework that reclaims the heroic narrative through the lived experiences, spiritual power, and cultural memory of African American women. Her dissertation explores how ancestral storytelling, sacred ritual, and collective healing practices create modern-day hush harbors—spaces of refuge, resilience, and revolutionary self-making for Black women and girls. Through this work, Lois seeks to reframe liberation not as a solitary act, but as a communal, intergenerational, and spirit-guided path toward wholeness.
Lois is the co-founder of SIFTMedia 215 Collective, a non-profit Philadelphia-based Women of Color film collective dedicated to supporting socially conscious storytelling. She also serves on the board of Big Picture Alliance, a nonprofit that empowers Philadelphia youth to define their own narratives through filmmaking and digital media arts.
She is currently developing two major projects: Epistles of Love: The Gospels According to Edgar and Clara, a graphic nonfiction novel and film based on her ancestors’ love story during the Great Migration; and Justice for Matt, a dramatic film exploring (S)heroism, familial healing, and the pursuit of justice.
| DOWNLOAD A COPY OF LOIS' BIO HERE |
