Black History Month: Black Cowboys

cowboys are well established in our ideas about the wild west and the american frontier less well-known is the fact that about one in four of those cowboys were black ranchers who raised cattle in the mid-1800s relied on the skilled work of cowboys barbed wire hadn't been invented yet so cattle largely roamed freely and had to be rounded up where they could be lost to the wilderness railroads weren't widespread enough to carry livestock from ranches in the southwest to markets in other parts of the country so cowboys had to herd cattle hundreds of miles to transport them from ranches to slaughterhouses before the civil war many white ranchers forced slaves to perform work like breaking horses and tending to cattle after the emancipation proclamation freed those slaves ranchers lost their unpaid workforce but formerly enslaved men left the ranches with skills that were in high demand as cowboys african-american men were able to earn higher wages than they could in most other jobs at the time and were able to enjoy a freedom of movement in life that was unavailable to most black people because the work could be dangerous cowboys had to be able to depend on each other for safety regardless of race the race was likely still a factor in many cowboys interactions with one another black cowboys were able to reach a level of equality with their white counterparts that few other african americans could claim of course black cowboys were not immune to racism discriminations and segregation were still common in many of the towns they passed through and hotels and restaurants could refuse to serve some cowboys because of their race after the invention of barbed wire helped contain cattle herds and the expansion of the railroad made it much easier to transport livestock across the country cowboys lost their jobs the transition was difficult for many especially for black cowboys who had more limited job opportunities and more difficulty purchasing land some cowboys changed careers and others became rodeo stars though sometimes barred from participating in competitions black cowboys also started entertaining at rodeos and sometimes form their own shows bill pickett was one of the early stars and became famous for developing his own technique for catching stray cattle that involved biting the cow on the lip it was apparently very effective and fun for audiences to watch there are still organizations today that are keeping the traditions of black cowboys alive including the bill pickett rodeo and cowboys of color rodeo across the country black horseback riders joined the 2020 protests against police brutality kiera wade who belongs to a group of childhood friends who called themselves the compton cowboys said there is so much love and unity within the black cowboy and cowgirl community we're just trying to bring that energy to these marches in a peaceful way you

Channel: Seeds of Literacy

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Length: 2min 58sec (178 seconds)

Published: Wed Feb 17 2021