Samuel Hopkins interview

Description

Samuel Hopkins (1913-2008) was a veteran and investment banker who had strong ancestral ties to the abolition movement in Maryland and Baltimore City. He was an active Republican and ran in several different political elections; he successfully ran for and was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates from 1950-1954, and unsuccessfully ran for Congress in 1952 and mayor in 1955. In this oral history interview, Hopkins discusses his notable ancestors Elisha Tyson, George Elliot, Moses Sheppard, and Johns Hopkins. He speaks about his time as a student at Johns Hopkins University and recounts the connections that he established there. Hopkins elaborates on the 1941-1942 series of articles released by the Baltimore Afro-American newspaper on “champions of democracy,” and gives his thoughts on several of the figures that were included in the series. He also discusses the characters and personalities of Lillie May Carroll Jackson and Theodore R. McKeldin.