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Unpacking the Complicated History of the Black Cowboy
Historians estimate that around 1 in 4 cowboys were Black.
When most of think of a cowboy, we tend to think of slick-talking, sharpshooting white man with cowboy hat and leather boots. In the U.S., it’s a tall task to grow up without seeing at least one western film or tv show with this archetype. But the term “cowboy” was what Black cattle ranchers, usually slaves or former slaves, were called.
The stories of Black cowboys are often left untold in American history and pop culture. Descendants of these ranchers want to combat this oversight, and set the record straight in an effort to include the contributions of these men in history and culture of the American West. But to truly dig into the past of the Black cowboy, means unearthing a complicated history.
Alaina Roberts, an assistant professor of history at the University of Pittsburgh and author of “I’ve Been Here All the While: Black Freedom on Native Land,” wrestles with the tension between the historical and popular culture depiction of Black cowboys. Her work uses archival research to connect “debates about Black freedom and Native American citizenship, to westward expansion on Native land.” She says that Black cowboys, who did various categories of work, were also a part of settling the West and its…
