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Reviewed by:
  • Black Cowboys in the American West: On the Range, on the Stage, behind the Badge ed. by Bruce A. Glasrud and Michael N. Searles
  • Bruce M. Shackelford
Black Cowboys in the American West: On the Range, on the Stage, behind the Badge. Edited by Bruce A. Glasrud and Michael N. Searles. (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2016. Pp. 256. Notes, bibliography, index.)

Black Cowboys in The American West: On the Range, on the Stage, behind the Badge combines ten previously published papers with three unpublished works to present a viewpoint similar to that taken in the landmark 1965 book The Negro Cowboys by Philip Durham and Everett L. Jones. Like the earlier publication, Black Cowboys in the American West examines contributions to the image of the black cowboy ranging from biographical stories of cattle workers to musicians, stage, and rodeo performers, which prior to 1965 were largely ignored. Glasrud's introduction, "Don't Leave Out the Cowboys!," covers earlier publications and their authors, reflecting [End Page 234] the continuing interest in black cowboys and African American involvement in the American West.

Part I, "Cowboys on the Range," consists of four biographies and a previously unpublished paper by Deborah Liles, "Before Emancipation: Black Cowboys and the Livestock Industry." Liles challenges the historical accuracy of the traditional definition of the term "cowboy" and its source, requiring only a cow and someone to care for the animal to fulfill the definition. Further, using a non-geographic standard for the word, Liles throws a wide loop around the subject, drawing from stories and sources reaching from the eastern seaboard to Texas. She reminds us of earlier research on slaves working cattle by Terry Jordan, Randolph B. Campbell, and James Smallwood, as well as a more recent work on the Hawkins Ranch by Margaret Lewis Furse. However, information about contact between African American and Hispanic cowboys, with their skills of roping and tools like horned saddles, is noticeably absent in the chapter and the book in general. A pleasant surprise is Michael Searles's "Nat Love, a.k.a. Deadwood Dick: A Wild Ride." While the chapter presents little new information, Searles combines research from varied sources to create a coherent and realistic narrative of the famous cowboy and performer who was born into slavery.

Part II, "Performing Cowboys," moves the subject of black cowboys into the twentieth century with chapters on rodeos, music, and the actor and performer Herb Jefferies. Of note is "Musical Traditions of Twentieth-Century African American Cowboys" by Alan Govenar. Texas music aficionados will recognize many of the legendary names discussed. Govenar tells us about the background of black Texas musicians who grew up in the agriculture and livestock business. Most readers are probably only familiar with the music of legendary artists like Mance Lipscomb.

Like part II, part III, "Outriders of the Black Cowboys," presents chapters on a variety of subjects from law enforcement to music, but moves the reader back to the nineteenth century. In the final chapter, "Concluding Overview: In Search of the Black Cowboy," Searles addresses some of the questions left out of other chapters, in particular, the trusting relationships between some black cowboys and their white employers. Included are Bose Ikard and Charles Goodnight, Addison Jones and George W. Littlefield, and the Wild West show operator Zack Miller and his star performer Bill Pickett, to name several.

As new sources and publications seem to come forth yearly, the subject of black cowboys will continue to be an ongoing conversation, and Black Cowboys in the American West: On the Range, on the Stage, behind the Badge is a good addition to that discussion. [End Page 235]

Bruce M. Shackelford
Witte Museum
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