Founding Director of the John Mitchell Jr. Program
Each of the stories in this exhibit took place in the era of America’s active expansion of slavery, but they are adjacent to each other in both time and space. The stories of York, Black Walden, and Harriet Tubman are spatialized below. Use the map to explore where these three stories are positioned in relation […]
The unacknowledged assistant to the Lewis and Clark Expedition
York was an enslaved man that was crucial to the Lewis and Clark expedition. He was born into slavery by the Clark family in Caroline County, Virginia, and then assigned to William Clark at a very young age. In his 30’s he was selected to participate in Lewis and Clark’s expedition to the Pacific Ocean. […]
Tradesmen, Diplomat, and Hunter
Although York had no say in the decision, at 30-something years old he was chosen to accompany the “Corps of Discovery” on their expedition from St. Louis to the Pacific Ocean. Meriwether Lewis and William Clark conferred at length about who would accompany them on their expedition. They chose interpreters, soldiers, and French oarsmen who […]
The Lewis and Clark expedition described at least 178 plants and 122 animals. While no plants or animals bear York’s name, like the Clark’s nutcracker (Nucifraga columbiana) or the Lewis woodpecker (Melanerpes lewis), it is clear that he helped identify many of the species that were documented along the way. On March 7, 1806, Lewis […]
On suppressed and contested histories
Throughout the history of the United States, the contributions of people of African descent have been suppressed to further a false narrative. The fields of conservation and natural history are no exception. Likewise it is easy to relegate historical figures (of any background or artificial category of people) into neatly-defined boxes. African African naturalists—in this […]
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