Long before social media and neighborhood group chats, Pasadena news consumers had the local paper.
Black residents in Pasadena had Ruthie Hopkins.
To those who knew her, Hopkins was a relentless seeker of the truth, a well-respected journalist, and co-owner of The Pasadena Journal, the region’s only Black newspaper, which ran from 1989 to 2023.
At 83, Hopkins died on May 9, according to a social media post by her son, Yusef, after decades of serving the Black communities of Pasadena and the San Gabriel Valley.
“Ruthie was a speaker of the truth,” said Gary Moody, the former president of Pasadena’s branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
Rooted in advocacy journalism, The Pasadena Journal, owned by Hopkins and her husband, Joe, reported on the Black communities of the wider Pasadena and San Gabriel Valley regions….from the town’s history, to civil rights, discrimination by law enforcement, and everyday life. The Journal worked closely with local advocacy networks to ensure that information was not only circulating, but being reported fairly.
Before her passing, Hopkins, a native of Oakland, lived in a memory care facility after being displaced by the Eaton Fire in 2025. Her son’s post noted she’d passed away after health challenges.
“The NAACP and the Pasadena Journal were attached at the hip,” said Moody, citing the paper as a central force of their efforts to keep the community informed. “The Pasadena Journal will always be represented as an integral part of Black Pasadena.”
Moody described Hopkins, in particular, as someone of the highest esteem, with a cemented legacy in Pasadena, because the community depended on the Journal for accurate information.
According to The Los Angeles Sentinel, the Journal reported on relevant issues the Black community faced in Pasadena, from the lack of diversity in the workplace to racism in city governments and law enforcement, among other topics.
“That legacy began with Ruthie and the beginnings and inception of the Pasadena Journal, because you had two stellar individuals,” said Moody. “They came into Pasadena knowing and understanding what the community was all about.”
What was published in the newspaper was not only accepted, but well-respected, just like Hopkins.
“[Ruthie] was one of those that would be the go-to person if you wanted to hear something about what is going on in our neighborhood,” said Moody.
Joe Brown is another former president of the city’s NAACP branch, and a retired postal manager and “lifelong Pasadenian.”
Brown credits his time in postal work, advocacy through the NAACP, and community involvement as his connections to “Miss Ruthie.”
“My years with Joe and Ruth, they go way back,” he said. “She would always give some of us youngsters — not youngsters in age, but youngsters in embarking upon new levels of life — guidance.”
Brown also worked closely with the Hopkins, as they worked close together to challenge dominant narratives about what was occurring in the area.
“The Pasadena Journal became a voice of reason and reckoning,” he said. “They were very instrumental when we were going through a lot of the reorganization and keeping the community informed.”
From reporting on the school board to the police department, Brown emphasized Hopkins’ role as a reporter of facts.
“Miss Ruthie would call before she would go to press,” he said. “She said, ‘Now, next week I need you to prepare a rebuttal. We don’t try to control what people say, but we want you to do that, but just the facts.’”
He described Hopkins as the “quiet diplomat”, as she was relentless in providing information for the community, while maintaining accuracy.
“She wasn’t about a whole lot of ugliness,” he said. “You knew you were going to get both sides of the story.”
Brown continued contact with Hopkins after he retired from the NAACP and continued advocacy work.
“That’s when I really came to know the Pasadena Journal and the impact that it did and could make upon a community, [one that] was devoid of getting a lot of the factual information out,” he said. “That’s the impact that I believe it has had, preserving the historical narratives of a community.”
While the paper no longer publishes, Brown emphasized “Miss Ruthie’s” efforts in pushing out information about Black Pasadena and its history.
“That’s what we’re living on now as a part of the legacy,” he said.
She is survived by her three sons, Yusef, Omar, and Jamal Hopkins; seven grandchildren; and one great-granddaughter, according to the LA Sentinel.
A visitation for Ruthie Hopkins will be held on Friday, May 22, at the Woods Valentine Mortuary in Pasadena.