Many gathered inside an equestrian center in Jacksonville, FL, on June 10 to watch an all-Black rodeo as part of a Juneteenth celebration, NBC reported.
Black Rodeo USA organized the event to entertain and teach others about a hidden part of Black history.
“The Black American history was white-washed,” Black Rodeo USA producer Lanette “Finky” Campbell said. “No one knows that the lone ranger was really a Black man, Sheriff Bass Reeves. That’s who the long rangers modeled after, but you wouldn’t know that because they white-washed it. Thousands of other Black cowboys that contributed to the old west that you never know about.”
Many cowboy films with stories set in the 1800s display white cowboys in the South, leading many to believe whites were the original cowboys. However, people forget that slaves tended to the land and livestock.
According to Black Past, as the cattle industry expanded and migrated across the South, African Americans relocated with it. Once it reached Texas by the 1850s, the majority of the cowboys in Texas were African American.
William “Bill” Pickett is a well-known Black cowboy and rodeo performer inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame.
With events like the Black Rodeo in Jacksonville, the organizers aim to create an inclusive space.
“For people that look like me, it is a difficult thing to see us represented. I was that kid that wanted horses, and I wanted to show, and I didn’t see anybody like me. So, now our kids can come and see that there are cowboys and cowgirls of all shades,” another organizer shared.
Black Rodeo USA travels nationwide, showing the world that Black cowboys exist and have existed for centuries. They have six more shows coming up. On June 24 at 7 p.m., they will continue their Juneteenth celebration in Shawnee, OK, at the Heart of Oklahoma Exposition Center.
