Black History Month

Kids to see two eras of black history

In February, St. Louis kids will get a chance to learn about the experiences of two black Americans during different historic periods. One time was 200 years ago; the other was during the mid-1900s.

Hasan Davis, as York

One was the slave York, the only black on the 1804-06 Lewis & Clark exploration of the west. He will be portrayed by former St. Louisan Hasan Davis.

The other is Prof. Chuck Stone, a journalism professor at the University of North Carolina. A native of St. Louis, Stone was a member of the all-black Tuskegee Airmen that had a brilliant record in World War II.

Hasan Davis, as York, and Chuck Stone, as himself, will be featured in a video-conference on Thursday, Feb. 10, from 11:30 to 12:30 p.m. The show is sponsored by the Lewis & Clark Then and Now re-enactment crew, now on winter-break in St. Louis.

The video-conference will be sent to schools through the Cooperating School Districts. However, individuals can view is on computer at http://ali.apple.com/lewisandclark.

(If you want to see the video-conference in real-time, you'll need a computer with high-speed internet access. Dial-ups won't work. When on the Apple site, go to the "video set-up" page to download the Quicktime software to allow viewing with sound and motion. The St. Louis County libraries have computer rooms with free on-line access.)

The video-conference has special significance since it will be during Black History Month. That's an annual celebration of African-American history, held every February.

Hasan Davis

Hasan Davis, who is African-American, is a motivational speaker from Berea, Ky. He has been doing portrayals of York for the last three years.

Davis lived in St. Louis until he was eight years old, when his family moved to Atlanta. While here, he attended Ashland Elementary School in north St. Louis City. He also remembers playing football at Mathews Dickey Boys and Girls Club.

He said York was the one member of the Lewis & Clark group who received no rewards for taking part in the historic exploration to the Pacific Ocean. He was a slave to William Clark before the trip and was still a slave after the two-year journey.

Hasan said other members of the team received land grants and double pay for their two-year service. "York received nothing for his hard work and team spirit, not even the right to call himself a free man," Hasan said.

York was on the exploration trip because he was a slave-servant for William Clark. Clark and Merriwether Lewis were chosen by President Jefferson to explore the recently-acquired Louisiana Purchase.

Hasan points out that, on the exploration, York "exchanged his slave status for something that looked at times very much like equality." He said that extended "to the point of having a fair vote in the business of the camp."

Also, York's black skin helped with negotiations with the Indians. His different look helped to ease the distrust of whites by the native Americans. Hasan said the Indians called York the "Black Indian" or the "Gift of God."

However, when the exploration was over, York remained in service of Clark. Davis said Clark is known to have complained that York was "surly and aggravating" when he didn't want to accompany Clark, when he was transferred to St. Louis.

Stone's description of the African-American experience is from a different era. When World War II started in 1941, the nation's armed forces were segregated.

So, if blacks were to fight for their country, it was in all-black units. One of the most famous of those was the Tuskegee Airmen. The name came from their training site in Tuskegee, Ala. A famous historically black college, Tuskegee Institute, is located there.

Many of the first members of the Tuskegee Airmen were from St. Louis. Stone was born in St. Louis but the family left when he was three.

Professor Chuck Stone

Stone was a navigator in the all-black unit but hadn't gone into combat at the time World War II ended. Most of the black airmen who did see action in Europe were fighter pilots who flew escort missions during the heavy bombing raids by Allied planes.

President Harry S. Truman, a native Missourian, finally issued the executive order that integrated the armed forces. But, Stone said "it didn't make much difference" in the early days and most units remained segregated.

After the war, Stone had a long career in the black media and in politics. He was the first president of the National Association of Black Journalists. He also was an administrative aide for a powerful black congressman, Adam Clayton Powell of Harlem.

The role of blacks in American aviation is celebrated in a large mural located at Lambert Airport. It is located on the ground floor in the passenger corridor that leads to the baggage carousels.

Stone's kids book about a black squirrel Professor Chuck Stone's first kid's book, "Squizzy the Black Squirrel," started as a bedtime story for his granddaughter. He said he was visiting his daughter and his granddaughter in Philadelphia when he saw a black squirrel in a park. "As a lark, I made up a story about the squirrel for my granddaughter, Parade Stone," he said. The story was then turned into a kid's book. The full title is "Squizzy the Black Squirrel: A Fabulous Fable of Friendship." The moral of the story is that the color of Squizzy's fur wasn't a barrier to friendship with other squirrels that might have gray or brown fur. During a program on the University of North Carolina's television show, "North Carolina Bookwatch," Stone said, "My granddaughter never got tired of hearing about the black squirrel. I think she gleaned from the story the lessons of tolerance in terms of color."