Influential figures who have impacted Black history in Oregon
From 1982 to 1992, Matthew Prophet acted as Portland Public Schools’ superintendent.
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From 1982 to 1992, Matthew Prophet acted as Portland Public Schools’ superintendent.
The Untold Truth Of The Slave Who Helped The Lewis And Clark Expedition Nathan Howard/Getty Images By Sarah Crocker/March 5, 2021 1:23 am EDT Most U.S. students have at least heard of the Lewis and Clark expedition. As History reports, the expedition in question took place from 1804 to 1806. President Thomas Jefferson had just completed the Louisiana Purchase, buying the previously French Louisiana Territory from none other than Napoleon Bonaparte and the government of France for a cool $15 million. The deal doubled the size of the United States, which was then barely out of ...
Though often omitted from history books, African American people had feet on the ground side by side with early explorers of the Oregon Territory—from Markus Lopius, a "servant" on the Lady Washington in 1788 with Robert Gray, to York, a slave on the Lewis and Clark expedition, to Moses Harris, a free black mountain man and legend in the fur trade and later a sought-after wagon train guide. There's also James Douglas, chief factor at Fort Vancouver in the 1840s and concurrent governor on Vancouver Island and British Columbia. Somewhat simultaneous with Douglas' rise to ...