Within hidden or underrepresented narratives, like that of Black cowboys, there are further silences to uncover. For example - what about Black cowgirls? Let’s close out this series by discussing the importance of reading and revealing historical silences. Marginalized counterstories exist in all mainstream historical accounts - we can commit to reflecting on and uncovering these stories year-round - not just during commemorative months like Black history month - by learning to ask, to investigate, and to amplify what’s missing.
Throughout this series, we have unearthed some of the history of Black cowboys in the early American West - a history that is not widely known. Missing narratives like these can not only give us a fuller picture of both past and present, but also catalyze reflection on why and how these absences came to be.
For example, not much can be found about Nellie Brown, the Black cowgirl pictured on the cover, except for her name and that the photo was taken in the 1880s. We know from other historical records that there were many Black cowgirls in the Old West - yet details of their lives are often sparse or difficult to find for a variety of reasons.
Silences in a story can speak volumes about the systems of power and oppression at play in a particular place and time. And there are so many silences when it comes to the lives of Black women in American history.
In the early American West, Black women were becoming community leaders and entrepreneurs. Here are just a few you can look up:
Sarah Bickman, Rebecca Howard, and Abby Fisher were prominent Black businesswomen.
Mary Ellen Pleasant, Biddy Mason, and Elizabeth Thorn Scott Flood were activists and change-makers.
Johanna July was a Black Seminole tamer of wild horses and craftswoman.
Mary Fields or “Stagecoach Mary” served as the first Black woman mail carrier in the United States - using impressive riding and defense skills as a cowgirl to defend from mail theft.
“The image of an African American cowgirl … speaks volumes and suggests a larger narrative still untold. Sadly, this narrative may be left untold in the absence of oral histories, written accounts, and images, leaving their storied experiences only to the imagination.” - Tracy Owens Patton and Sally M. Schedlock. “Let’s Go, Let’s Show, Let’s Rodeo: African Americans and the History of Rodeo.” The Journal of African American History 96, no. 4 (2011): 503-521.
A silence is more than an underrepresented perspective. Silences can be made so invisible over time that it’s difficult to identify that they are missing in the first place. Their absences mean that mainstream narratives can be incomplete or incorrect. Excavating hidden stories can often entirely reframe our understandings of past and present - and can even inspire creative new narratives or contribute to momentum for social change.
Historical silences regarding individuals, groups, events or perspectives, can exist for multiple reasons:
Primary sources are few to none, or are difficult to access or read.
Records have been intentionally or unintentionally destroyed or omitted.
The dominant lens on a story, which often remains unquestioned, shields marginalized perspectives and other details from view.
As Black History Month is coming to a close and Women’s History Month begins, we challenge you to remember that uncovering historical silences and amplifying hidden narratives is a practice we can implement year-round to reframe our perspectives and raise awareness. Here's a prompt to follow any time of the year for this purpose:
Choose a historical event to explore, or examine one that’s mentioned in a TV show, movie, or conversation with friends or coworkers. Ask yourself:
What is the stock, mainstream story about that event and the people, places, and circumstances involved? How might that story weave into how we understand the world today? Do you think this is the full story?
How can you read the story from a different perspective? What perspectives of individuals or groups mentioned in the story might be further detailed or clarified? What primary sources or records did they leave - including cultural objects - that might fill in these gaps?
Once unearthed, in what ways do silenced stories or perspectives differ from or parallel the mainstream account? What do you think the information was left out, and what individuals or groups did its absence advantage or disadvantage? What do these silences expand or elucidate about the past and the present?
Additionally, you can check out the following resources for more reading on Black cowboys and cowgirls.
“Not their first rodeo: How Black riders are reclaiming their place in cowboy culture,”from NPR: https://www.npr.org/sections/pictureshow/2022/02/19/1074792510/black-cowboys-mississippi-big-rodeo-project-justin-hardiman
“Fight for your right to yeehaw: Lil Nas X and country’s race problem,” from The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/apr/27/fight-for-your-right-to-yeehaw-lil-nas-x-and-countrys-race-problem
“How Solange and Mitski Reconsider Who Can Be The Cowboy," from Pitchfork: https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/how-solange-and-mitski-reconsider-who-can-be-the-cowboy/
Sources:
https://www.npr.org/sections/pictureshow/2022/02/19/1074792510/black-cowboys-mississippi-big-rodeo-project-justin-hardiman
Cartwright, Keith Ryan. Black Cowboys of Rodeo: Unsung Heroes from Harlem to Hollywood and the American West. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2021.
Flamming, Douglas. African Americans in the West. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2009.
Patton, Tracy Owens and Sally M. Schedlock. “Let’s Go, Let’s Show, Let’s Rodeo: African Americans and the History of Rodeo.” The Journal of African American History 96, no. 4 (2011): 503-521.
"Let's go, let's show, let's rodeo: African Americans and the history of rodeo." The Journal of African American History, vol. 96, no. 4, fall 2011, pp. 503+. Gale Academic OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A281521646/AONE?u=anon~2d89b180&sid=googleScholar&xid=6359a2cd. Accessed 17 Feb. 2023.
Gender, Whiteness, and Power in Rodeo: Breaking Away from the Ties of Sexism and Racism. Plymouth: Lexington Books, 2012.
Wallace, Christian. “The Jackie Robinson of Rodeo,” Texas Monthly, July, 2018.
Wills, Matthew. “Black Cowboys and the History of the Rodeo,” JSTOR Daily, February 11, 2021, https://daily.jstor.org/black-cowboys-and-the-history-of-the-rodeo/.
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/apr/27/fight-for-your-right-to-yeehaw-lil-nas-x-and-countrys-race-problem
https://crdl.usg.edu/people/fletcher_george_1890_1973
https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/black_cowboys_in_oregon/#.Y8qzAOLMJAc
https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/black-cowboys
https://victorehistory.com/2022/04/19/episode-8-fight-for-the-west-black-cowboys-and-the-rodeo-with-colton-wagner/
https://traveloregon.com/things-to-do/culture-history/pendleton-pioneers-who-paved-the-way-for-diversity/
https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/how-solange-and-mitski-reconsider-who-can-be-the-cowboy/
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/lesser-known-history-african-american-cowboys-180962144/
https://www.rancholoscerritos.org/black-on-the-range-african-american-cowboys-of-the-19th-century/
https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/southwestern-colored-cowboys-association-1940s-1950s/
https://www.texasmonthly.com/articles/black-cowboy-the-jackie-robinson-of-rodeo/
https://nationalcowboymuseum.org/collections/awards/rodeo-hall-of-fame/inductees/5274/
https://www.afar.com/magazine/circle-l-5-the-texas-riding-club-keeping-black-cowboy-culture-alive
https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/howard-rebecca-groundage-1827-1881/
https://www.sigtheatre.org/events/201920/gp/the-african-american-women-of-the-wild-west
https://cowgirlmagazine.com/the-african-american-women-of-the-wild-west/
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