Learning About York

I almost never include anything here that came from Facebook, but this post... It was written by someone named Derek Mosley, a municipal court judge in Milwaukee:

Everyone knows Lewis and Clark, but did you know that there was a black man who was also part of the expedition? His name was York.

As William Clark's slave from boyhood, he participated as a full member of the expedition and was present when the expedition reached the Pacific Ocean. York was known for his skill in scouting, hunting, field medicine, and manual labor in extreme weather conditions.

Lewis had noted in his journal how York had saved him from certain death from a grizzly bear during the expedition. The Native Nations treated York with respect, and he played a key role in diplomatic relations, mainly due to his dark skin.

After the expedition returned, every member received money and land for their services, every member except York. York asked Clark for his freedom based upon his good service during the expedition, and Clark refused. York pleaded to be reunited with his wife, who was a slave in Louisville; he even offered to work in Louisville and send Clark all his earnings.

Clark still refused, and sold York to a brutal master in 1811, where he remained a slave at least until 1816. No reliable information has been published on York after that year. Today I honor York, a man history books, until recently, have forgotten.

I am ashamed to say that in reading Mosley's words, I expected something like a happy ending, rather than the complete opposite, as was the reality. That tells me that my indoctrination to storytelling tropes generally and "white people are good guys" specifically runs deep.


Statue of York (his imagined appearance, since there are no images of him) from Louisville, Kentucky.