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For Black History Month, The Spark is spotlighting voices who have spent decades uncovering the stories often left out of Central Pennsylvania’s historical record. One of those voices is Dr. Leroy Hopkins, a historian whose work has focused on Lancaster’s African American past—and whose own life reflects the complicated realities of race, community, and belonging in the region.
Hopkins grew up in southeast Lancaster during segregation, but his earliest memories challenge the idea that racial tension defined every aspect of daily life. “I lived in a multicultural enclave, the 7th Ward,” he said. “I was born on the 400 block of North Street, grew up in the 500 block, and then moved to Church Street, which is in the 3rd Ward. And my neighbors were German, Russian Jews, Italians, and we all got along. There was no racial tension. The problems came when you went outside of your community.”…