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Regional History Colloquium: Pow-Wowing & Philanthropy
November 5, 2015 @ 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm
FreeToday there is scant evidence of the once thriving African-American community that existed in Conestoga Township from the American Revolution until just before World War I. Dr. Leroy T. Hopkins, Jr. will discuss the origins of that community and the central role that Harriet Sweeney (1816-1884) played at the end of the 19th century in sustaining that community in this Regional History Colloquium for November. Sweeney’s success as a pow-wow doctoress underscores the as yet little researched interactions of African Americans and Pennsylvania Germans in Lancaster County. The fate of this community reflects the difficulties faced by African Americans living in the rural North.
Dr. Leroy T. Hopkins, Jr. is a retired professor of German at Millerville University. His research interests include African-American history in Pennsylvania (especially Lancaster County) and cross-cultural contact (African and German). His publications include “Writing Diasporic Identity: Afro-German Literature since 1985,” in Not So Plain as Black and White: Afro-German Culture and History, 1890-2000, and “Afro-German Diasporic Studies: A Proposal,” in Preserving Heritage: A Festschrift for C. Richard Beam.
The colloquium, Pow-Wowing & Philanthropy, takes place on Thursday, November 5, beginning with a social gathering at 4pm, followed by the lecture from 4:30-5:30pm. The lecture is free and open to the public and takes place in Ryder Hall at LancasterHistory.org, 230 N President Avenue.
The 2015-2016 Regional History Colloquium series is supported
by our friends at SmartLife VIA Willow Valley!
