Feb 17, 2022
Matt Crawford speaks with author Keith Ryan Cartwright about his book, Black Cowboys of Rodeo. They ride and rope horses, ride and fight bulls, and even wrestle steers. These are Black Cowboys, and to do all that, they also had to fight racism and prejudice. Cartwright has collected and curated over 100 years of stories told by these pioneers themselves. Set against the backdrop of Reconstruction, Jim Crow, segregation, the civil rights movement, integration and mass incarceration, this is a rich and important history that needs to be read. Black Cowboys are not an anomaly or a punchline, and their struggles and stories need to be told and shared. I hope you will all read this book and help tell their stories.