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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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