The Black Cowboy - 1173 Words

Unique to the United States, the Old West wields a powerful influence on the American imagination that can still be seen in numerous aspects of the nation’s culture, such as clothing lines and movies. Unfortunately, as is the case with most other periods, historic acknowledgement of African Americans’ contributions to the West is still not complete. Only recently, within the last few decades, have American scholars and the film industry earnestly begun to correct this period in regards to African Americans. In 2005, the Idaho Black History Museum (IBHM) in Boise assembled a display that incorporated the black cowboy into it. The West has always held the promise of opportunity for countless Americans. While many African Americans struggled†¦show more content†¦By the early twentieth century, black cowboys accounted for two percent of the total equestrian population in the West. In Idaho, where African Americans comprised about 0.2 percent of the total population, blacks made up 1.8 percent of the State’s cowboy population. Only recently have some of these individuals begun to receive the recognition they deserve. In 2008, Henry Harris, a deceased black buckaroo of Spanish tradition, found his way into the Buckaroo Hall of Fame in Winnemucca, Nevada. For decades, he had gone relatively unnoticed by most Americans. Conceived in slavery and born in freedom, Harris had traveled west from Texas chasing the promise of a better life. Following John Sparks, the future governor of Nevada, in 1903, Harris found himself in the midst of a large cattle empire encompassing northeast Nevada and southern Idaho. Like most African Americans, Harris began his buckaroo experience branding cows and breaking horses; two undesirable jobs often relegated to black cowboys. As Harris showed greater skill and leadership, Sparks would later make him foreman over a crew of both black and white cowboys. The color of his skin had not restricted his opportunities as a buckaroo; most white cowboys treated Harris as an equal on the range. Off the range though, he was just another black man and became racially inferior once more. Though Harris had left some influence on Idaho and the West, he is far from the only black cowboy to have done so. RecentlyShow MoreRelatedThe West Were The Cowboys1368 Words   |  6 Pagesold west for a long time, black cowboys were one of the most prominent groups of individuals at the moment. The most popular figures in the west were the cowboys. Western history is loaded with memorable stories and old stories about cowboys and their incredible deeds and fame, however almost no is thought about them being black. In the eighteenth and nineteenth hundred, cowboys were depicted in the film screens as Caucasian and Mexican guys and females The term cowboy is rumored to have startedRead MoreAdvertising Essay1241 Words   |  5 PagesThe Urban Cowboy Ever flip through a mens magazine such as Gentlemens Quarterly or Maxim and wonder if their advertisements are the same as a womens fashion magazine? Do their ads focus on health, fashion and beauty as much as a womens magazine? The ads today relate to every type of man whether you are a family man, a playboy, gentlemen, an average Joe, a playful youth, a metro sexual or a mans man such as the cowboy. Many men have never been exposed to more than the basic clothing andRead MoreSeeing Music- Story Adaptation Of Aaron Copland s Hoedown1120 Words   |  5 Pageshave always been fascinated with the â€Å"Wild West† and everything that encompassed the cowboy lifestyle. While searching for a musical piece for this assignment, I stumbled upon â€Å"Hoedown† by Aaron Copland, and immediately knew this was the correct musical piece for me. When listening to the music, you feel as if you are truly embedded into the feel of the â€Å"old west†. I chose to adapt the mus ic to a story line of a cowboy who aspires to be a rodeo champion. As the music progresses, so does the plot andRead MoreThe Rise Of The Railroad System1606 Words   |  7 Pagesto the demise of cowboys, instillation of cattle drives, and the Postbellum cattle boom. In order to understand the negative attributes that the railroad brought we must go back and bring our attention to the beginning which includes the original cowboys. Despite the many riveting TV dramas that paint cowboys as fast men who love faster women we now know in order to be historically accurate, we would have to trade these Clint Eastwood fairy tales for less exciting ones of cowboys who were smelly lonelyRead MoreBirth of a Nation1338 Words   |  6 Pagescrude humor and because it has a black sheriff as the protagonist. The D. W. Griffith film was considered controversial and is still considered controversial to this day. Basically it paints the story of the rise of the Ku Klux Klan. Of course the KKK members were the heroes of the story and saved everyone from harm. The film uses white actors painted in black face to portray freed slaves. It also portrays them as savages and rapists. There was not one â€Å"black† person in the film that wasn’t consideredRead MoreEssay about The Western Formula1317 Words   |  6 Pagesminimal by thought, but at the same time relevant. Crane signifies a different perspective to these standards. Cranes thoughts for the use of the Western formula are just approaches towards the west, from the introductory setting to the coarse grin one cowboy would make towards another. These do not in fact relate to Caweltis Western formula. Cranes deviation from the formula western signifies his deeper approach towards issues such as human existence and moralitya mp;#8212;the ethical code that we followRead MorePolitical Poetry by Margaret Atwood Essay1035 Words   |  5 PagesBackdrop addresses cowboy by Margaret Atwood Creating a masterful poetic movement through the American mythos, Atwood skewers manifest destiny by embodying the voice of the Other, the discarded I am. Writing political poetry that artfully confronts dominant ideology – thus exposing the motivation and effects of misrepresentation – is a difficult challenge. The process can easily be derailed by temptations to write strident, overly didactic verse that elevates sentiment above nuance andRead MoreThe Legend Of The West1367 Words   |  6 PagesWest, almost synonymous like Bufflo Bill, had entrance the nation with tales of outlaws, cowboy, and prowling lawmen. This has led to many myths surrounding the famous gunfight at O.K. Corral, in which its popularity as led to many films. The films, My Darling Clementine, Tombstone, and Wyatt Earp, share a common subject and information, however, each provides is own perspective into the Earps and the cowboy conflict. The films offer different versions of the same events and people, however theseRead MoreThe Truth about Cowboy Types1782 Words   |  7 PagesFor most Americans in this age, the word â€Å"cowboy† will call to mind iconic images of a horseman wearing a wide-brimmed hat, a belt of bullets, and a flannel shirt; he might be guiding his herd lazily along grassy plains, singing folk songs around a campfire with his companions under a starry sky, riding off with a beautiful ranch girl into an iconic sunset backdrop, or even wearing a mask and enforcing vigilante justice in a small town terrorized by hardened western thugs or hostile Native AmericansRead MoreDude, YouRe a Fag Essay1152 Words   |  5 Pagesthere were some definite on the surface differences such as our schools great devotion to our agriculture department and cowboy heritage with seasonal Rodeos. Using Pascoe’s analysis of the word fag used in high school I instantly related it to the cowboys at our school, who wore button down t shirts, cowboy hats and tight jeans. Even though our school was prided for its cowboy background, using Jeffrey Weeks cultures of resistance or a history of opposition and resistance to mor al codes it finally