The That Western Life podcast is hosted by Katie Schrock, Rachel Owens-Sarno, Katie Surritt, and Joe Harper! Join us weekly for great conversations about rodeo and the western lifestyle.
When it comes to the history of the American Cowboy, modern media has painted the picture to look one way when the reality shows that enslaved African Americans known as "Cow Boys" were truly the icons that changed the west, creating a unique equalizer post Emancipation Proclamation. Katie Surritt & Katie Schrock take a deep dive into the history of African American cow boys and the impacts they have had on the west, cattle drives, and rodeo as we know it.
Read MoreThey ride horses, rope calves, buck broncos, ride and fight bulls, and even wrestle steers. They are Black cowboys, and the legacies of their pursuits intersect with those of America's struggle for racial equality, human rights, and social justice.
Keith Ryan Cartwright brings to life the stories of such pioneers as Cleo Hearn, the first Black cowboy to professionally rope in the Rodeo Cowboy Association; Myrtis Dightman, who became known as the Jackie Robinson of Rodeo after being the first Black cowboy to qualify for the National Finals Rodeo; and Tex Williams, the first Black cowboy to become a state high school rodeo champion in Texas.
Black Cowboys of Rodeo: Unsung Heroes from Harlem to Hollywood and the American West author Keith Ryan Cartwright talks about his unlikely career in the PBR from the world of entertainment to the production of this pivotal book. Black Cowboys of Rodeo is a collection of one hundred years of stories, told by these revolutionary Black pioneers themselves and set against the backdrop of Reconstruction, Jim Crow, segregation, the civil rights movement, and eventually the integration of a racially divided country.
