The history of Black cowboys on the Western frontier

Nat Love was born a slave but died a free cowboy and a legend of the Old West. After the Civil War freed Love from slavery, he walked to Dodge City, Kansas, and got a job breaking horses — after he could prove that he could rope a bucking horse, climb on its back without a saddle, and ride him without falling off. Thus began Nat’s life as a cowboy.

We don’t typically include Black cowboys as part of the American story of the West, even though 1 in 4 American cowboys is Black. Black cowboys are as American as baseball.

GUESTS:

• Zaron Burnett III - Host and creator of the podcast Black Cowboys
• Patricia Kelly - An African-American cowgirl and the founder of Ebony Horsewomen; she was inducted into the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame in 2015

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired June 7, 2021.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.