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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