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Feb 14, 20233 min read

Black Cowboys, Part I: Background

Updated: Feb 26, 2024

Nat Love was a self-proclaimed cowboy. His 1907 autobiography describes his involvement in everything one might associate with any cowboy tale in the Western genre- massive cattle drives, shootouts with outlaws, a temporary capture by the Pima tribe, participation in daredevil riding, and washing it all down with a drink. He earned a real cowboy nickname - “Deadwood Dick” - for his roping prowess. Pictured here, he was born into slavery near Nashville, TN in 1854, and moved out west as a free man due to his skills breaking horses.


At one point in American history, 1 in 4 cowboys looked like him, yet Black cowboys’. stories are often left out. Over the next few posts, let’s explore some of the history of Black Cowboys in the U.S. and their early contributions to the sport of rodeo competition. Let’s start with some background.



The image of a cowboy wrangling cattle is so distinctly American - but Black cowboys aren’t often part of the narrative around that image. Did you know that during the 18th and mid 19th centuries, 1 in 4 cowboys were Black?


Spanish colonizers brought horses and domesticated cattle to the Americas in the 1500s. The Indigenous peoples enlisted to drive cattle on their ranches became known as vaqueros. Later, as white American settlers moved West into Spanish (and later Mexican) territories to build ranches on cheap land, they relied on learning skills from the vaqueros and Native tribes to manage cattle and horses - and used the labor of enslaved Black people to do much of this work.


During the era of slavery in America, one common job for enslaved Black people was tending to livestock. Many built skills with cattle and horses as a result of labor on ranches. Some possessed or inherited knowledge about working with these animals from African cultures.


Others worked for various Native American tribes, learning their techniques in the cattle and horse industries. Also, when enslavers went to fight in the civil war, they further relied on enslaved people to continue managing the livestock on their properties.


After the Emancipation Proclamation, the increasing population of cattle still needed to be herded and moved, and horses still needed care and training - which created opportunities for paid work. Many formerly enslaved Black people chose to bring their skills to this profession.


White livestock workers were referred to as “cowhands” while enslaved Black livestock workers were referred to with the more pejorative “cowboy” until all ranch and cowhands were referred to as “cowboys” or “cowgirls.”


Additionally, many free Black people moved into the Western frontier themselves and started ranches, living the open range lifestyle. The northwest was one of first places for free Black people to settle or own land- though many were eventually forced out by white men as economic hardship befell the country amidst the Dust Bowl.


Mainstream narratives about the Old American West often exclude stories about the contributions of Black Americans. Let’s work to rectify this underrepresentation and give credit to black cowboys for their contributions to the sport of rodeo and history of the West.


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