News Release
____________________________________________________________
December 20, 2005
Radio Series Commemorates the Lewis &
Clark Bicentennial
Series to run for 14 weeks starting Jan. 4
BOISE � NPR News 91 will broadcast the 13-part series Unfinished Journey:
The Lewis and Clark Expedition. An additional segment, Imagining York,
will be presented in February to create a 14-week series. The programs will
run from Jan. 4 to April 9. One show will run three times each week, at 7
p.m. on Wednesdays, at 8 a.m. on Saturdays and at 6 p.m. on Sundays.
Unfinished Journey: The Lewis and Clark Expedition is an innovative
series commemorating the 200th anniversary of the Lewis and Clark
expedition. Host Peter Coyote guides listeners through the profound impact
the expedition has had on American history � and most interestingly, how it
greatly affects our lives even today. Each one-hour program is fresh,
entertaining and thought-provoking. Presented by Oregon Public Broadcasting
and Lewis & Clark College and distributed by Public Radio International
(PRI), Unfinished Journey will also feature a DVD containing the
complete series, along with additional audio, video and educational
materials. Aaron Meyer and Bill Lamb composed the original soundtrack for
the series.
Each episode of Unfinished Journey explores a different subject
related to the expedition. Meriwether Lewis, William Clark and Sacagawea are
each the focus of a program that examines in-depth their roles in the
expedition and how history has judged them in the ensuing 200 years.
Longstanding controversies over America�s post-independence expansion and
the effect on the sovereignty of American Indian tribes are debated in
another program. The series also looks at the events and achievements of
daily life in the corps and among the tribes they met. You�ll hear the jokes
and music expedition members may have shared, and you�ll learn how the
scientific observations Lewis and Clark made contributed to the intellectual
resources of a young nation.
A separate program, The Undiscovered Explorer: Imagining York
explores the making of an American myth. This hour-long audio documentary
will air Feb. 8, 11 and 12. It is narrated by Danny Glover and is also a
production of Oregon Public Broadcasting. Through a rich weave of music,
interviews, performance and dramatic readings, this program tells the story
of York, William Clark�s slave and the only African American member of the
Lewis and Clark Expedition.
York�s story is both heroic and tragic. He began life as the childhood
playmate of Clark, but at age 12 their relationship was transformed into
that of master and slave. On the expedition, York experienced a rare level
of freedom and equality, working shoulder to shoulder with white men. Upon
their return, the other members of the Corps of Discovery were welcomed home
with gifts and praise. York was plunged back into bondage and subservience,
which ultimately shattered his life.
The facts of York�s story are based on fragmentary evidence. Forbidden by
law to read and write, York left no written record of his own. We only know
about him through the writings and stories of others. Depictions of York
have changed through time, always colored by the social era in which they
are told. York has been characterized as a valiant hero, an insolent and
sulky slave and a happy, dancing darkie. Yet how York himself really felt
about his experiences remains a total mystery.
Today, artists and historians continue to give words to this man who has no
voice in history. Poetry, opera and rap � all in York�s �voice� � are being
performed as part of the current bicentennial celebration of the Lewis and
Clark Expedition.
A look at how York is portrayed through history opens the door to many
questions about American society at large and about how history is recorded,
remembered and created. It is this aspect of York � the �Invisible Man� who
exists only as a reflection of ourselves � that informs this documentary.
A complete rundown of the series, including links to more information on
each of the programs, is available at
http://radio.boisestate.edu.
NPR News 91 is heard on KBSX Boise at 91.5 FM, KBSY Burley at 88.5 FM, KBSJ
Jackpot (Nev.) at 91.3 FM, KBSQ McCall at 90.7 FM and KBSS Sun Valley at
91.1 FM. Boise State Radio includes NPR News 91, KBSU-Arts and Cultural
Programming and Idaho�s Jazz Station.
http://radio.boisestate.edu
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Contact: Jim East, Boise State Radio, (208) 426-5333,
jeast@boisestate.edu
http://radio.boisestate.edu
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Last reviewed on Wednesday, February 01, 2006