Recovering Forgotten Stories: Lancaster’s African American History and the Declaration of Independence at 250

The Spark · Feb 10, 2026 · 44m

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First, we look at the work of Dr. Louis S. Hopkins, whose forty years of research into Lancaster’s African American past blends rigorous scholarship with lived experience. Growing up in segregated southeast Lancaster City, Dr. Hopkins developed a deep awareness of how geography, access, and memory inform the historical record. His ongoing efforts to recover stories long pushed to the margins challenge us to reconsider how communities understand their own past.

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We then shift to a post‑lecture conversation with Tracie Potts, Executive Director of the Eisenhower Institute…