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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 22, 1997)
P agi A3 lm P or n. A nu O bserver • OCT. 22, 1997 Corps o i Discovery Embraced Core of Democracy Slave Had Equal Voting Rights on Lewis and Clark Expedition lie av erag e sixth g rad er know s the fo rev er- paired nam es Lew is and C lark -- and probably also the nam e Sacagaw ea — but how m any would recognize the nam e o f York, the black slave ow ned by W illiam C lark ? A m em b er o f the o rig in al party that set forth from the St. Louis area on May 14, I 804, York becam e one o f the m ost im p o r tant and h isto ric a lly sig n ific a n t m em bers o f the leg en d ary a d v e n ture. The sto ry o f th at a d v e n tu re , in c lu d in g the key role p lay ed by Y ork, w ill be d ra m a tic a lly reto ld in the new Ken Burns film, “ Lewis & C lark: the Jou rn ey o f the C orps o f D isc o v e ry ," a "G e n e ra l M o tors M ark o f E x c e lle n c e P re se n ta tio n ” to be te le v ise d on PBS T u e sd a y and W e d n esd ay , N o vem ber 4 and 5, 1 9 9 7 (8 :0 0 -1 0 :0 0 PM, ET each n ig h t). [C heck local listin g s] A bout the sam e ag e as his ow n er, Y ork had been g iv en to W illiam C lark by C la r k ’s fath er, w ho h ad . in his tu rn , o w n e d Y o rk ’s father. Y ork acco m p an ied C lark as an ex p ed itio n m em b er o f T he C o rp s o f D isc o v e ry ” from the M ississip p i R iv er to th e Pa cific C oast and back for the entire tw o y e a rs and fo u r m o n th s o f the jo u rn e y . Postal Service Observes ‘’First Fruits’ I lie U.S. Postal Service will con tinue its Holiday C elebration stamp series O ctober 22, 1997, with the issuance o f the K w anzaa stam p — com m em orating the increasingly popular African A m erican festival o f fam ily, com m unity and culture. Joining D an ielsfo rth e“ First Day o f Issue” cerem ony will be Dr. M aulana K arenga, the creator o f K w anzaa; stam p d e sig n e r and noted artist, Synthia Saint Jam es: and Dr. James L. Powell, Executive D irector, N atural History M useum o f Los A ngeles County. " I he principles o f Kwanzaa hold special value for many African Ameri cans and reach across cultural bound aries as well,” says Daniels. "The values emphasized during the w eek long celebration are designed to en hance relationships among individu als and families, which can ultimately lead to better communities." "The issuance o f the Kwanzaa stamp will raise an awareness o f this im portant cu ltu ral festiv al and strengthen collective self-concepts for the present and honor the past for African American," Daniels adds. Created in 1966 by Dr. Karenga, chairman ofthe Department o f Black Studies at California State University - Long Beach. Kwanzaa is a seven- day cultural celebration that takes its name from the Swahili phrase mean ing "first fruits" and honors the Afri can tradition o f celebrating the har vest. The cultural festival -- which be gins December 26 and ends on Janu ary I — celebrates and reinforces fam ily, com m unity and cu ltu re through practices and affirm ations related to the N guzo Saba, The Seven Principles. The Seven Prin ciples observed during K w anzaa are Umoja (unity), K ujichagulia (selfdeterm ination), Ujima (creativ ity), and Imani (faith). “Y o r k A painting by Charles M. Russell, entitled “York, ” depicts the slave whom William Clark took with him on his expedition west with Meriwether Lewis. The Indian tribes were fascinated by York, calling him “Big Medicine.“ Y ork w as o f p articu lar fascin a tion to the Indians e n c o u n te re d on th e jo u rn e y , alm o st none o f w hom had e v e r seen a black p e r son b efo re. Several trib e s saw , in his skin co lo r, special pow ers, and called him "B ig M edicine." At one stop, C lark noted in his jo u r n a l th a t th e In d ia n s " a ll flo ck ed around him & exam ined him from top to to e .” At an o th er en c o u n te r, the In d ian s, a ssu m ing that Y o rk 's skin had been blackened by paint, tried to rub it off, m uch to the am usem ent o f York and the rest o f the party. O ne o f the rem arkable features o f the Lewis and Clark expedition was the im portant decisio n s that were made not by its leaders alone but by vote o f all m em bers o f the group. It was in N ovem ber o f 1805 when the p arty, hav in g reached the Pacific O cean, was faced with the d e c isio n o f w here to build its w in te r cam p. B ecause there was d isa g re e m e n t about the best site, the m a tte r w as put to a vote. And so it w as that 60 years before the E m an cip atio n P ro c la m a tio n , in the first U .S. e x p e d itio n to the W est, Y ork -- a black man and a slave — cast a vote. D espite the e q u a lity he e n jo y e d as a m em ber o f T he C orps o f D isco v ery , how ever. York re tu rn e d to the life o f a slave when the jo u rn e y w as over. A lthough accounts differ about the tim in g and c o n d itio n s, it was som e years a fte r the end o f the e x p e d itio n befo re C lark finally g ra n te d Y ork his freedom . A c co rd in g to som e o f the m ost re li able v e rsio n s o f the sto ry , York then w ent into the c a rtin g b u si ness and died in T ennessee in 1832. T he story o f the m ost sig n ifi cant trip in A m erican history is told in the new Ken B urns film , Lew is & C lark the Journey o f the C orps o f D iscovery, a “ G eneral M otors M ark o f E x cellence P re s e n ta tio n ’’ to be b ro ad cast T u e s day, Nov. 4 and W ednesday, Nov. 5, 1 9 9 7 (8 :0 0 -1l):0(rPM, E T .each n ig h t) on PBS. [C heck local list ings] C redit: M ontana H istorical So ciety ODOT Offers Child Passenger And Airbag Safety Tips O regon D epartm ent o f T rans p o rtation safety experts are pro viding drivers tips for child pas senger and airbag safety in re sponse to O reg o n 's first child fatality involving an airbag this week Persons who are not restrained w ith safety belts are slam m ed for w ard into the bag instead o f al low ing the airbag space to inflate. L evinski noted. This com pounds the force o fa crash and is likely to injure passengers, she said. “ Used correctly , airbags have saved thou sands o f lives,” she added To d e crease the potential for airbag- caused injuries, give the airbag ad equate room to inflate, she said. Every tim e you ride, w ear your safety belts, with the lap belt low and snug around the hip and shoul der belt over the collarbone, she said O ther tips include: Drivers: * Sit 10 to 12 inches back from the steering w heel, m oving the seat back as far as possible * Grip steering wheel at nine and three o'clock positions * If the v eh ic le is equipped w ith a tilt-ty p e ste e rin g w heel, tilt the w heel to w ards the chest ra th e r than up to w ards the face P a sse n g e rs: * When sitting in front, move the seal back as far as possible * Children under the age o f 12 and adult passengers with small or fragile fram es should ride in the back seat w henever possible. * Never use a rear-facing infant seat in the front seat o f a car with passenger side airbags! Due to the wide variety o f child safety seats and auto interior de signs, seat installation can be con fusing and difficult, she said If you are unsure about w hether you are using a child safety seat cor rectly, contact the Child Safety Seat Resource Center for Oregon at I- 800-772-1315,” she said Forclarifi- cation o f O regon's safety belt law or other traffic safety related in formation, contact the Oregon De partm ent o f Transportation at I- 800-922-2022. Levinski reported that safety seats are only present in 40-76% o f th e situations requiring them. O f those using seats, about 90°» are used incorrectly Statew ide. 17% o f children under four are totally unrestrained or held by an other passenger, she said. 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