The story of the Black cowboy is 200 years old.
Historians estimate that between 20% and 25% of the settlers in the Western region of the continental US were Black men and women. These unsung heroes rode horses, herded cattle, built towns, maintained order, and even delivered mail in the untamed landscape of the Wild West.
For almost two centuries, two distinct cowboy narratives, one Black and one white, have coexisted in the United States, but these accounts rarely crossed paths and have largely remained separate – until now.
Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer and educator Ron Tarver has released The Long Ride Home: Black Cowboys in America, a captivating 160-page collection of stunning, mostly black-and-white images that sheds light on the rich heritage and ongoing legacy of Black cowboys in the United States.
Despite their presence in America since the 19th century, the enduring contributions of Black cowboys to the history of the West often go unnoticed. Many remain unaware of how their unique culture continues to thrive today, not only in rural areas but also in urban settings across the country.
While George Washington is widely recognized as the first president of the United States, the story of William Lee, an enslaved Black man, is continually overlooked. William Lee not only managed the general’s hunting expeditions but also fought alongside him in Revolutionary War battles. In fact, enslaved Black individuals were the ones responsible for taming wild horses for white individuals to ride and herd cattle.
Mia Mask, a film historian at Vassar College in New York, notes that enslaved Black men and women would even participate in weekend competitions, showcasing their skills in calf roping and riding. These competitions eventually evolved into rodeos, offering prize money to the most skilled participants. She also points out that Black men, once freed, turned their expertise in working with horses to establish prosperous careers despite the challenges they faced during slavery. But, when it came to pop culture movies and TV shows that portrayed the story of the West, this absence of representation would last for decades.
“It’s been a whitewashing of American cinema, and the Western genre is part of that,” Mask explains to The Guardian. “I’m always reminding folks that films are not the same as history, but films are where a lot of people become interested in learning more about history.”
When early Western film sagas started to include Black people, they often portrayed them in demeaning and stereotypical roles that depicted childlike, shuffling servants or strong, silent workers. But, there were a few notable exceptions to these portrayals.
One such departure was Bill Pickett, a formerly enslaved man from Texas. Pickett not only broke free from these stereotypes but also made significant contributions to the Western genre. He invented rodeo steer wrestling and tamed wild horses alongside his brothers, talents that led him to become a Western show performer and even star in a pair of movies in the 1920s.
Another pioneer in challenging these stereotypes was Herb Jeffries, also known as the Sepia Singing Cowboy. Jeffries was a baritone jazz singer and actor who starred in Black Westerns during the 1930s. His presence in these films helped to diversify the representation of Black individuals in the Western genre.
Nonetheless, it wasn’t until the 1960s that most Black actors began to receive opportunities to star in major Western movies. Sidney Poitier’s appearance in Duel at Diablo during this time marked a significant milestone in the inclusion of Black actors in prominent Western cinema.
There’s also an interesting connection between the Lone Ranger and the legendary Black lawman Bass Reeves. It turns out that the Lone Ranger, a well-known white hero in movies, TV, and radio, was inspired by Reeves. According to acclaimed Western historian Art T. Burton, throughout Reeves’s impressive 32-year career as a deputy US marshal, he fought crime alongside various Native American partners and even handed out silver dollars.
“Bass Reeves is the closest person to resemble the Lone Ranger,” Burton said. “[He’s] much bigger. He is undoubtedly the greatest frontier hero in US history.”
Now, Tarver’s mission is to showcase a community that has always existed but hasn’t received the recognition it deserves. Over the past thirty years, the Swarthmore College art professor has dedicated himself to photographing Black cowboys across the United States and documenting their heritage. But most importantly, his fascinating book highlights a crucial truth: Black people have always had Western traditions, and Black cowboys played an important role in American history.
Through his compelling, contemporary images, Tarver not only captures the essence of the Black cowboy’s deep-rooted history and way of life, but he also shines a spotlight on a thriving culture of Black-owned ranches, rodeo operations, parades, inner-city cowboys, retired cowhands, and Black cowgirls of all ages. Still, at the start of the project, he encountered many obstacles due to the lack of information surrounding Black cowboys.
“As it went on, I was really happy with the images but then I started seeing all this pushback,” he tells USA Today. “I tried to publish this book like 25 years ago. And I remember getting responses from acquisition editors saying there’s no such thing as Black cowboys. And it was just really disheartening.”
The Long Ride Home is a timely work that contributes to the broader interest in the Black experience in America. In addition to its extensive history, cultural relevance and extraordinary visuals, the book also includes an essay by Burton, marking the publication as an invaluable addition to the annals of American history for years to come.
Tarver, who grew up in a family of Black cowboys in Oklahoma, also uses his photography to question, if not upend, long-held notions of what it means to be a cowboy and, with that, what it means to be an American.
“We all built this country,” he told the Philadelphia Inquirer. “And to remind people that we were in this culture and have been for a long time is important.”
“I hope this book carries out that idea, as well as the beauty and majesty of it.”
The Long Ride Home: Black Cowboys in America by Ron Tarver is available at all major retailers where books are sold, including the following Black-owned bookstores:
