Jackson Davis V, a twelve-year-old boy with an adventurous spirit and inquisitive mind is running a campaign to post the face of York, Lewis and Clark’s African-American enslaved manservant, on a postage stamp.
In February of 2011, Davis’s class at Lowell Elementary School was assigned to do a report on the Lewis and Clark expedition. Jackson Davis says that Lowell Elementary School teaches him to “Think outside the box and got me into writing letters and to do extraordinary things.” While researching the duo, Davis discovered that William Clark had a slave named York.
During a trip to the post office, Davis found numerous stamps of historic African-American figures, yet York was not amongst them. He didn’t understand why Lewis and Clark were on a stamp, and their Native American guide Sacagawea had a coin, but York did not get any recognition. “Stamps are the most visible things out there. What better way to honor someone than to put their face on a stamp?” said Davis. Jackson’s mother, Cyn Davis says this is her proud moment, when “A kid asks the right question.”
Jackson Davis, who is the great-grandson of a DC postal worker, wrote a letter and sent his essay to USPS Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee asking that they consider honoring York with a Black Heritage Stamp. The USPS responded saying that his proposal is “under consideration.”
Since then Jackson has written and received support letters from Rep. Chris Van Hollen, Dr. Henry L. Gates, Sen. Cardin, William Burris American Postal Workers Union (AFL-CIO) and Mont. County Executive Ike Leggett. Congressman Chris Van Hollen helped Davis in gaining support for his letters with President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden who wrote Davis a letter in return.
President Obama responded saying “Your ideas are important to me, and your generation will play an important role in shaping our country’s future…. Young people like you inspire me and give me tremendous hope for the future… I wish you all the best.”
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article courtesy of TheGrio.com
