A bust of the lone Black adventurer in the Lewis and Clark expedition mysteriously appeared in an Oregon park. Who was York?
When the early-1800s expedition to the Pacific Ocean led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark returned after two years and 8,000 miles, members who traveled with the now-famous pair of explorers received titles, accolades, land and fame. Except for the Black man who had no say in whether he was coming along. York, an enslaved man owned by Clark and the first Black man to reach the Pacific, wanted his freedom. Or, at the very least, York wanted to be allowed to live with his wife in Louisville, Kentucky. Clark refused both requests. When York became despondent, Clark saw fit to punish York with a “trouncing,” historians said. While he did eventually gain his freedom, accounts of York's life after the expedition vary, and his story has been mostly ignored or misconstrued. In Oregon, an unknown artist gave York the recognition that experts say his contributions to the Corps of Discovery deserved. A bust of York, mysteriously placed in Portland’s Mount Tabor Park in late February, depicts a bald man gazing solemnly downward and includes a plaque describing the significant role of the expedition's lone Black adventurer. A bust of York, a member of the Lewis and Clark expedition and the first African-American to cross the continent and reach the Pacific Coast, sits atop a pedestal at Mount Tabor Park in Portland, Oregon. It’s a gesture experts who spoke with USA TODAY hope will spark new interest in York. Darrell Millner, a professor emeritus of Black studies at Portland State University, said York made “serious and important contributions to the success of the expedition.” He added York was the only enslaved man who took part in the full expedition.

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