African Americans in the Old West Presented by the Oakland Black Cowboy Association (OBCA)
The Most Famous Black Cowboys
Nat Love aka Deadwood dick Nat was a cowboy and adventurer. He was a rodeo roping and shooting expert. His autobiography is one of the most widely read books on Black Cowboys.
bill pickett Rodeo showman who invented steer wrestling also better known as bulldogging. He was the first African American admitted to the National Cowboy Hall of Fame.
The Lawmen
BASS Reeves One of two hundred U.S. marshals appointed by U.S. Government in the Old West in 1870's.
Grant Johnson Eufaula, Oklahoma, law man
The Outlaws
Ned Huddleson aka Isom Dart Cattle rustler
Ben Hodges Dodge City con man, forger, card cheat, rustler
Women of the Old West
Mary Fields aka Stagecoach Mary Laundress, mail carrier, gunfighter, brawler
Clara Brown Entrepreneur, nurse, community leader and organizer First Black inductee into the Society of Colorado Pioneers.
The Riders
William Robinson California Pony Express Rider
George Monroe Stage Coach Driver
The Exodus Western Migration • Benjamin "Pap" Singleton (18091882), a former slave from Tennessee, started a movement west, the Exodus of 1879. • "Ho for Kansas!“ was the slogan that drove 15,000 to 20,000 African Americans westward to Kansas from 1877-1879.
Black Towns • Between 1865 and 1915 there were at least 60 Black Towns had been settled by African Americans seeking to escape the hardships and racial injustice. • By 1920, over fifty towns were established.
Exodusters
Colonel Allen Allensworth Founder of the town of Allensworth. Born a slave, Allensworth served as a lieutenant colonel, in the Army, the highest-ranking black officer of his day.
Moses Speese A former livestock caretaker became a Nebraska Homesteader when he fled unfair conditions North Carolina to make a better life for his family.
Black Towns -Oklahoma • Oklahoma became a haven for African Americans moving Westward from 1865-1920. • By 1890, Oklahoma could claim over 137,000 African American residents living in all black towns across Oklahoma. •
Notable Black Towns • • • • • • •
Langston, Oklahoma 1890 Boley, Oklahoma 1903 Allensworth, California 1908 Dearfield, Colorado 1910 Nicondemus, Kansas Tulsa, Oklahoma Rosewood, Florida
A rich history • The mentioned ancestors only scratch the surface of our rich history. • Please learn more information about contributions of Blacks in the Old West.
Read More
Watch More Contemporary Films
Untold West The Black West
The Bronze Buckaroo
Buckle Brothers
Cutting Horse
Harlem Rides the Range
Gang of Roses
Two-Gun Man From Harlem
Surf More • Contact us online at: • www.blackcowboyassociation.org
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