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2006 Mail

My Knowledge of African Americans in Harrisburg

From Barry Lewis, September 14, 2006

Let me state up front that I am Caucasian. I lived in Harrisburg from birth (1943) until I went to college in Philadelphia in 1961. Until fifth grade, I lived on Delaware Street in a mixed race neighborhood. It s funny, but mixed race neighborhoods are pretty rare these days. My best friends were both black and white. I attended Hamilton Elementary School which was fully integrated (I think it always was).

When we were accepted into public housing, even at the age of 11 I was more or less shocked that public housing was segregated. Hall Manor and Hoveter Homes were for poor whites. I cannot remember the name of the black public housing projects. That meant that Foose Elementary was also segregated since elementary schools at that time were neighborhood schools.

When I started Edison Junior High, once again I was in an integrated school and this continued into high school at John Harris. I remember my first African American teacher at Edison. His name was Karl Hope, an English teacher and one of the finest persons I have known. I understand that he had some hard times as the only black teacher in the school. But you would never have known that from him. He was a tall, proud handsome man. One of my African American friends told me he thought Mr. Hope was just the absolute best teacher. I remarked that he was pretty good, but my friend told me that I just didn t understand. All of the black men he knew, he said, were chauffeurs or cooks or laborers and that after walking into class and seeing Mr. Hope that he realized he could be anything he wanted to be.

At John Harris, the valedictorian of my class in 1961 was Ronald Brooks, an African American. He went to Lafayette College on a full scholarship. I went to the University of Pennsylvania on scholarship along with two of my African American classmates: James Williams and Laura Cannon.

I lived in such an integrated environment for so long in Harrisburg that I was totally na ve to what conditions were like elsewhere. It wasn t until I got to college that I became fully aware of the civil rights movement and the horrid conditions in the south and elsewhere in the United States.

I haven t lived in Pennsylvania for a long time and I suspect Harrisburg has changed. In many respects that s too bad. My experiences there, along with family influences, largely account for the fact that my wife and I are parents of four adopted children. Three are African American, one is Korean. The children (and one grandchild) and wife and I don t see colors. We see family. That s how I saw my friends in Harrisburg.

Barry Lewis
Boulder, Colorado

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