A history of black cowgirl culture, ahead of Beyonce’s new album
by Yolanthe Fawehinmi
Mar 26, 2024
4 minutes
Many of the best riders, ropers and wranglers were black. They rode all the Old West trails, herding millions of cattle before them, and even hunted wolves and wild horses before facing men in shootouts.
Black cowboys, including Nat Love – who published his 1907 autobiography The Life and Adventures of Nat Love – and Bill Pickett, were just like the white Texan, Mexican and Indian folk heroes and villains, but their contribution to cowboy culture is often overlooked in popular culture, classic Western films and literature, despite it being deep, vast and rich.
So when entertainer Beyoncé shared the cover art –
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