Last year, protesters against racial injustice toppled numerous statues around the country. Now, one of the first works of art to emerge in their place depicts an unsung hero of the Lewis and Clark expedition, reports the Associated Press.
A huge bust of York, a Black man who was enslaved by William Clark and who was the first African-American to cross the continent and reach the Pacific Ocean, is sitting atop a pedestal amid a park in Portland, Oregon. It was placed there in the dead of night last weekend by persons unknown.
The bust, which seems to be at least four feet tall, can be found in Mount Tabor Park. Officials in the city, which has been an epicenter of Black Lives Matter protests since the killing of George Floyd, love what the head of the parks department called “guerrilla art.”
“This past summer, there’s been concern about some of the public art that many states have displayed, and so folks really see this installation as a bit of a reckoning,” Portland Parks and Recreation Director Adena Long said in an interview. “The story of York is really compelling and very sad.”
