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Black Cowboys of Rodeo
February 22, 2022 @ 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Magic City Books and Tulsa City-County Library present an in person program to celebrate Black Cowboys of Rodeo: Unsung Heroes from Harlem to Hollywood and the American West. The event will be on Tuesday, February 22 at 7:00 pm in the Pocahontas Greadington Learning Center at Central Library (5th and Denver in downtown Tulsa).
Black Cowboys of Rodeo is a collection of one hundred years’ worth of firsthand cowboy stories, set against the backdrop of Reconstruction, Jim Crow, segregation, the civil rights movement, and eventually the integration of a racially divided country.
Joining us for the event will be cowboys whose stories are shared in the book.
Copies of Black Cowboys of Rodeo are available now at Magic City Books and will be for sale at the event. The cowboys featured in the book will sign copies at the conclusion of the event.
This event is free and open to the public.
About Black Cowboys of Rodeo:
They 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.
Black Cowboys of Rodeo 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 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.
Keith Ryan Cartwright is a communications specialist for the Rutherford County Board of Education in Tennessee, an adjunct professor at Middle Tennessee State University, and a journalist. He previously served as editorial director and senior writer for Professional Bull Riders Inc. and is the author of Professional Bull Riders: The Official Guide to the Toughest Sport on Earth.
