John Wayne didn't exactly tell the whole story. If you grew up watching old Hollywood Westerns, you probably think the American frontier was a sea of white faces under wide-brimmed hats. That’s just not reality. Roughly one in four cowboys during the peak of the cattle drive era was Black. That is a massive chunk of history just... left out.
The history of the Black cowboy isn't some niche subplot in American history. It’s the backbone of the entire industry that built the West. After the Civil War, the Texas plains were crawling with millions of longhorn cattle, and someone had to move them. Thousands of formerly enslaved men, who already had the skills from years of working livestock on plantations, headed out to the trails. It was brutal. It was dusty. But for many, it was the first taste of true freedom, even if that freedom came with a side of grit and stampedes.
Why the "Cowboy" Name Actually Started as an Insult
Language is funny. Or, in this case, pretty revealing. Back in the day, white ranch hands were often called "cowhands" or "ranchers." The term "boy" was used as a derogatory way to refer to Black men, regardless of their age. So, "cowboy" was originally a racialized term.
Over time, the word lost that specific sting and became the catch-all name for the profession, but the origins stick. Black men weren't just "playing" cowboy. They were doing the hardest, most dangerous work on the trail. They were the ones breaking the wildest horses. They were the ones swimming cattle across flooded rivers in the middle of a thunderstorm.
Think about the Chisholm Trail. It wasn't some romantic stroll. It was months of dirt. Most of these men were experts in husbandry and roping because they had to be. If you couldn't handle a horse, you didn't last a week.
Bill Pickett and the Invention of Bulldogging
You can't talk about this stuff without mentioning Bill Pickett. He was a legend. He basically invented "bulldogging," which we now call steer wrestling.
📖 Related: Finding the Right Star Trek Collectible Watch: What Most Fans Get Wrong About These Timepieces
Pickett had this wild technique. He’d jump off his horse, grab a steer by the horns, and—this is the crazy part—bite the animal's upper lip to force it to the ground. He apparently got the idea from watching cattle dogs do the same thing. People had never seen anything like it. He became a massive star in the 101 Ranch Wild West Show, traveling across the world. Even though he was a headliner, he often had to face the reality of Jim Crow laws, sometimes being barred from white-only arenas or having to claim he was of different heritage just to perform.
Bass Reeves: The Real Lone Ranger?
Historians like Art T. Burton have spent years digging into the life of Bass Reeves. If you want to talk about a "tough guy," this is the guy. Reeves was one of the first Black U.S. Deputy Marshals west of the Mississippi.
He arrested over 3,000 outlaws.
Three thousand.
He was a master of disguise and a crack shot. Some people strongly believe he was the real-life inspiration for the Lone Ranger, given his penchant for riding a grey horse and handing out silver coins (though in Reeves' case, it was more about his incredible track record of justice in the Indian Territory). He lived a life that would make a modern action movie look boring. He even had to arrest his own son for murder once because duty came first.
The Rough Reality of the Trail
It wasn't all glory and roping contests. The history of the Black cowboy is also a story of navigating a country that was still deeply divided. On the trail, things were slightly different than in the towns. If a stampede broke out at 2:00 AM, nobody cared what color your skin was; they only cared if you could stop the herd.
There was a level of "trail equality" born out of necessity. You slept on the same ground and ate the same beans. But the minute the drive ended and the crew hit a town like Abilene or Dodge City, the old rules came back. Black cowboys often couldn't stay in the same hotels or drink in the same saloons as their white counterparts.
They were paid less. They were often given the "rough string"—the horses that were hardest to break. Yet, they stayed. Why? Because being a cowboy, even with all the hardship, offered more autonomy than being a sharecropper back East. You had a horse. You had a gun. You had the open sky.
Nat Love and the "Deadwood Dick" Legend
Nat Love is another name you should know. He wrote an autobiography in 1907, which is a rare first-hand account from a Black cowboy. He was born into slavery in Tennessee and headed West as a teenager.
He ended up in Deadwood, South Dakota, during a roping and shooting contest. He won everything. He was so dominant that the crowd gave him the nickname "Deadwood Dick." Love’s stories are full of tall tales and legitimate bravado, painting a picture of a man who was deeply proud of his skills. He eventually left the saddle when the railroads started taking over the cattle industry, becoming a Pullman porter. It's a classic American transition from the frontier to the industrial age.
Why Did History "Forget" Them?
Hollywood has a lot to answer for. When the Western genre took off in the early 20th century, the stories were sanitized. Producers wanted a specific image of the American hero: rugged, stoic, and white.
Black cowboys were relegated to the background or erased entirely. Even when real-life figures were portrayed, they were often "whitewashed." It took decades for the narrative to start shifting back toward the truth.
The Smithsonian and various Western heritage museums have been working hard to fix this. We're seeing more recognition of the "Buffalo Soldiers"—the Black cavalry regiments who protected settlers and built infrastructure. These men often transitioned into cowboy life after their service ended.
The Modern Legacy
The history of the Black cowboy isn't over. It’s still happening. You can see it in the Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo, the longest-running Black rodeo in the U.S. You see it in the "concrete cowboys" of Philadelphia or the riding clubs in Compton.
These groups aren't just hobbyists. They are keeping a specific culture alive. They are reclaiming a heritage that was nearly erased by a century of biased storytelling. It’s about more than just horses; it’s about the right to be seen as a foundational part of the American story.
Practical Ways to Explore This History Further
If this sparked something for you, don't just stop at one article. History is better when you touch it.
- Visit the National Multi-Cultural Western Heritage Museum: Located in Fort Worth, Texas, they do an incredible job of documenting the diverse faces of the frontier.
- Read "The Black West" by William Loren Katz: This is one of the most cited books on the subject and provides a wealth of photographic evidence and primary sources.
- Support the Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo: Check their schedule and see a live event. It’s a different vibe than a standard PRCA rodeo and highlights skills that have been passed down for generations.
- Follow the "Compton Cowboys" or "Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club": These modern organizations show how the cowboy spirit persists in urban environments today.
- Check out the Oklahoma Historical Society: They have extensive records on Bass Reeves and other Black lawmen and cowboys who operated in the territories.
Understanding the West means understanding that it was a melting pot of people trying to find a life out of nothing. The Black cowboy was there at every turn, from the first cattle drives to the closing of the frontier. They weren't just "present"—they were essential.