York bust in Mt. Tabor Park toppled and damaged overnight

By Web Staff

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    PORTLAND, Oregon (KPTV) — Portland Parks & Recreation say the York bust located at the top of Mt. Tabor Park was toppled overnight.

Sometime during Tuesday night or early morning Wednesday, the bust was torn from its pedestal. PP&R says a park visitor stopped to notify a maintenance working at about 6:51 a.m. about the damage. The damaged sculpture was removed by crews shortly after. York was the only Black member of the Lewis and Clark expedition group and was William Clark’s slave. The bust was placed in the park in February and replaced the one for Harvey Scott, which was toppled in 2020.

“The York bust appeared in Mt. Tabor park in February as a happy surprise to Portland Parks & Recreation (PP&R). Unfortunately, the numerous racist responses to the memorial of a Black man forced to participate in the Corps of Discovery Expedition have not been a surprise. The latest act of vandalism is incredibly disappointing for me, and I’m sure the majority of Portlanders will miss seeing York at the top of Mt. Tabor. Parks staff will inspect the installment after this latest incident to see if it can be salvaged,” PP&R Director Adena Long said in a statement.

Last month, a woman was caught on camera spray-painting graffiti over the bust. The woman could be heard in the video claiming she’s upset the original statue was replaced. Police identified the woman and cited her for second-degree criminal mischief, abuse of venerated objects, unlawful applying of graffiti, Portland city code vandalism, and protection of park property and vegetation.

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