Episode 51: The True Story of Black Cowboys in America

The True Story Of Black Cowboys in America Do you want to know the true story of Black Cowboys in America? Well, let’s start with a single star. That’s what you’ll find on the Texas state quarter, one lone star, standing over the shape of a state so vast it became its own legend. Simple. Solitary. Unyielding. But here’s what that coin doesn’t show you,  and what most of American history has chosen not to show you either. Behind that lone star were thousands of men who rode before dawn and slept under open sky. Men who crossed rivers that didn’t want to be crossed, drove cattle through storms that didn’t care who they were, and built an entire industry with their hands, their horsemanship, and a courage that asked for nothing in return, and got very little. One in four of them were Black. They were formerly enslaved men who carried skills learned under bondage into freedom, and rode that freedom straight into the American West. They were the first cowboys in Texas. They were the backbone of the great cattle drives. And for more than a century, their names were left off the poster, cut out of the film, and written out of the story. Not today. Welcome to Quarter Miles,  where every coin opens a door, and behind this one is a story that is long overdue. Today we are riding with the Black cowboys,  the men who built the trail that everyone else got the credit for. We are sharing the true story of Black Cowboys in America. Stay with us. You are going to want to hear every mile of this. Dr. Ronald W. Davis, II a historian, scholar, professor and curator takes us on a ride along with Black Cowboys – from their time enslaved until today. Are you interested in reading Nat Love’s book?  The Life and Adventures of Nat Love  (Affiliate link)