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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 20, 2013)
February 20. 2013 The Portland Observer Black History Month York: Too Long Ignored c o n t i n u e d f r o m page 2 shoulders a focal point and a sy m bol o f the burden he bore during the Lew is and C lark expedition, includ ing fragm ents o f W illiam C la rk ’s m aps “scarred” on his back. A fter first reading about Y ork, N eal and A bosedra w ere eag er to dig up his history. T hey visited D oug E rickson, Lew is & C la rk ’s head o f special college collections. O nly text fragm ents from the actual jo u r nals o f M eriw h eth er L ew is and W illiam C lark provide som e clues as to w ho he was. B om in o r n ear L adysm ith, V ir ginia, York and his family were slaves to the C larks. H is servant from boy hood, C lark inherited Y ork w hen his father died. In 1804, C lark took York, a large, strong m an, as the only A frican-A m erican m em b er on the Lew is and C lark E xpedition. In jo u rn als dating from 1804 to 1806, C lark describes Y ork’s duties that attest to his skills in scouting, hunting, field m edicine and m anual labor in extrem e w eather conditions. Y ork excited the curiosity o f N ative A m ericans w ho treated him w ith respect, m aking him a key person in trading and diplom atic relations. Sadly, the freedoms York endured on the trail were not carried over at the end o f expedition. W hile eveiy other mem ber received money and land for their services, Yoik got nothing. Clark even refused to grant York’s request to reunite with his wife, who was a slave in Louisville. He remained a slave under another master until 1816. His ultimate fate is unclear and disputed among historians. N eal says that with Y ork’s m em o rial in place, the history o f his life is exposed fo r future generations. The statue is no t ju s t a w ay for A frican A m ericans to learn Y o rk ’s story, but any nu m b er o f students w ho m ay no t know his history. W hile he initiated the project, N eal said it w ould not have hap pened w ithout the help o f so m any people involved. H e w ould like to recognize all those w ho helped bring the York statue, notably from Lew is & C lark’s Y ork C o m m ittee and chair Linda T esner; the director o f the R onna and Eric H o ffm an G allery o f C on tem porary A rt at Lew is & C lark; C hris Jay, lead do n o r and Lew is & C lark trustee; D arrell M illner, Y ork h isto rian and p ro fesso r o f black stu d ie s-a t P ortland State U niver sity; as w ell as fellow law students L ee M atthew s, Eric H evenor, Sara B agheri, and M atthew A bosedra. H e also recognizes the H onor- able A ncerL .H aggerty,seniorjudge, U.S. D istrict C ourt, Portland for giv- C h a rle s N e a l w a s a la w s tu d e n t a t L e w is & C la rk C o lle g e in 2 0 0 4 w h e n h e c a m e u p w ith th e id e a to b u ild a m o n u m e n t o f York, th e f ir s t b la c k m a n to e x p lo re w h a t is n o w P o rtla n d . N o w a n a tto rn e y in C a lifo rn ia , h e is p ic tu r e d in 2 0 1 0 w ith A lis o n S a a r, th e a r t is t w h o s c u lp te d th e s t a tu te fo r th e c o lle g e 's s o u th w e s t P o rtla n d c a m p u s . ing him the flexibility to com plete his internship while w orking on the York project. “ W ith o u t th e m h e lp in g , th e re w o u ld b e n o m e m o ria l to s p e a k o f ,” s a id N e a l. S m a ll Business C o m p u te r S u p p o rt a nd T ra in in g LB3 C o m p u tin g S o lu tio n s o n ’t g e t b o g g e d d o w n w ith to o m uch te c h n o lo g y ! LB3 helps y o u s e le c t th e te c h n o lo g y y o u nee d a n d m akes it e asy fo r y o u to use w ith tra in in g and s u p p o rt ta ilo re d ju s t fo r yo u . D BUDGET INSURANCE "Your Budget is our Budget" AUTO At Budget we work with many HOME insurance com panies to find LIFE the best fit for your needs and to fit your Budget. DURAN BEASLEY Conveniently located in Portland. 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It im pairs the im m une system and is estim ated to cost the nation o v er $100 billion each y ear in lost p ro d u c tiv ity , ab se n te eism and health care costs. T hat's pretty seri ou s. : I have a very stressfull jo b . H ow A Dr. B illy R. F lo w e rs Q can C hiropractic help m e? : M odem C hiropractic care can help natural relaxation technigues such as de-stress y o u r body. By helping yoga, m essage and visualization. For y o u r n e r v o u s s y s te m w o rk m o re less stress, o r m ore answ ers to any sm oothly, C hiropractic helps assure that questions you m ight have about y o ur all your body funcions (including the health, you'll find that C hiropractic is ones negatively affected by stress) are often the answ er. C all us fo r an ap w orking properly. W h at’s m ore, to d ay ’s pointm ent today. C hiropractors can also help you w ith A Flowers' Chiropractic Office 2124 NE Hancock, Portland Oregon 97212 Phone: (5 0 3 ) Z87-55O4