The gear of the trail drive. One in four cowboys on the trail was Black, by several estimates.
The Autry Museum says Black cowboys tamed and trained horses, tended livestock, and rode the trail with thousands of cattle. Estimates of their share differ: Wikipedia says up to an estimated 25% of cowboys who went up the trail, and Smithsonian Magazine says historians estimate one in four cowboys were Black.
How many cowboys were Black?
Most of the sources below put the Black share at about one in four, and one census-based figure for all cowboys is lower, at about 15%. The estimates count different groups, so the table names who says what.
| Source | Estimate | Group counted |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia, "Black cowboys" | Up to an estimated 25% | Cowboys "who went up the trail" |
| Durham and Jones, as Wikipedia reports them | About one-quarter, more than 5,000 people | All cowboys |
| Wikipedia, "Cowboy" | Up to 25%, estimated at 6,000 to 9,000 workers | Range-cattle workers, 1860s to 1880s |
| Wikipedia, "Cowboy," citing census records | About 15% overall; about 25% on trail drives out of Texas; very few in the northwest | Cowboys of African-American ancestry |
| Autry Museum | One of four | Cowboys who went on the trail |
| National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum | One of four | Cowboys who went on the trail |
| Smithsonian Magazine | One in four ("historians estimate") | Cowboys |
The takeaway: quote "one in four" for the Texas trail drives and name the source, and quote about 15% only when you mean all cowboys on the census-based count.
Why were so many cowboys Black after the Civil War?
Many Black men arrived with cattle-handling skills, and ranchers needed skilled hands. Wikipedia's cowboy entry says many were former slaves or children of former slaves with skills in cattle handling who headed west at the end of the Civil War. Smithsonian Magazine says that after emancipation ranchers were compelled to hire now-free, skilled African Americans as paid cowhands.
The skills had a hard origin. Wikipedia's Black cowboys entry says White Americans who settled in Texas in the first half of the 1800s brought many enslaved people to work their cattle ranches. Historian William Loren Katz, quoted by Smithsonian, says that right after the war being a cowboy was one of the few jobs open to men of color.
The Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) says a good many of the first Black cowboys were born into slavery, then met less open discrimination on the open range than in the city. TSHA adds that after the war many worked as horsebreakers, but few became ranch foremen or managers. The Autry Museum says roles later grew to include ranch owners, lawmen and rodeo competitors.
Who were the most famous Black cowboys?
Wikipedia's Black cowboys entry names Bill Pickett, Nat Love, Bass Reeves, Bose Ikard and Charley Willis, and lists Myrtis Dightman among notable 20th-century rodeo performers. The timeline places them and the events around them in order.
| When | What happened | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 1770 | A Louisiana regulation requires two enslaved people to manage 100 head of cattle | Wikipedia, "Black cowboys" |
| 1870 | Bill Pickett is born on December 5; he lives until April 2, 1932 | Wikipedia, "Bill Pickett" |
| 1875 | Bass Reeves, age 37, is recruited as a deputy U.S. marshal and is among the first Black deputies to serve west of the Mississippi River | Wikipedia, "Bass Reeves" |
| 1905 | Pickett joins the 101 Ranch Wild West Show | Wikipedia, "Bill Pickett" |
| 1907 | Reeves retires with thousands of arrests on his record; some accounts say over 3,000 | Wikipedia, "Bass Reeves" |
| 1907 | Nat Love publishes his autobiography. His Deadwood rodeo story is disputed: Deadwood newspapers make no mention of a rodeo that day | Wikipedia, "Nat Love" |
| 1964 | Myrtis Dightman becomes the first Black cowboy to compete at the National Finals Rodeo | Wikipedia, "Myrtis Dightman" |
| 1972 | Pickett becomes the first Black honoree in the National Rodeo Hall of Fame, 40 years after his death | Smithsonian Magazine |
| 1984 | The Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo launches in Denver | Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo |
| 2021 | The Harder They Fall, one of few Westerns whose principal cast members are all Black, opens in limited release on October 22 and streams on Netflix on November 3 | Wikipedia, "The Harder They Fall" |
Who was Bill Pickett, and did he invent bulldogging?
Bill Pickett is credited with inventing bulldogging. Wikipedia's Black cowboys entry says so, and TSHA says he is credited with originating the modern event known as bulldogging. Wikipedia says his method was biting a cow on the lip and then falling backward. TSHA says he made his name as one of the most outstanding Wild West rodeo performers in the country.
What was Bass Reeves' real story?
Bass Reeves was born into slavery in Crawford County, Arkansas, in 1838, and Wikipedia says he became among the first Black deputies to serve west of the Mississippi River. Wikipedia says he and his family farmed until 1875, when Isaac C. Parker was appointed federal judge for the Indian Territory. U.S. Marshal James F. Fagan, directed to hire 200 deputies, had heard that Reeves knew the territory and could speak several native languages, and recruited him.
When he retired in 1907, Wikipedia says, Reeves had thousands of arrests of felons on his record, and some accounts claim over 3,000.
Why does Hollywood leave Black cowboys out?
Sources describe the gap without naming one cause. Wikipedia says many Western films and television shows have underrepresented the number of Black people who worked in the West, and Smithsonian Magazine says Black cowboys may still be underrepresented in popular accounts of the West.
Recent work draws on the history. Wikipedia says that in the 2010s and 2020s, musicians including Beyoncé and Lil Nas X created hit songs and award-winning albums that drew on the history of Black cowboys.
Are there Black cowboys and Black rodeos today?
Yes. TSHA says weekend rodeos featuring Black cowboys began in the late 1940s and continue to be popular. Smithsonian Magazine says that in 1971 Cleo Hearn began producing rodeos for African-American cowboys.
The Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo's site says it celebrates and honors Black cowboys and cowgirls and their contributions to building the west. It launched in 1984 in Denver, born from Lu Vason's visit to Cheyenne Frontier Days, which he called exhilarating but missing one element: Black cowboys.
Quick answers
What is a soul circuit?
Wikipedia says Black cowboys formed "soul circuits," later organized as the Southwestern Colored Cowboys' Association. The largest number of participants were in rural communities along the coast of Texas, up to the 1940s.
Who was Bose Ikard?
TSHA says Ikard was a top hand and drover for rancher Charles Goodnight, and also served as his chief detective and banker. In June 1929 the Weatherford Daily Herald quoted Goodnight calling him "my detective, banker, and everything else." Smithsonian Magazine says the Lonesome Dove character Josh Deets was inspired by Ikard.
Is Nat Love's Deadwood story true?
It is disputed. Wikipedia says Deadwood newspapers, which covered every event of the Fourth of July celebrations, make no mention of a rodeo that day. Love's 1907 autobiography is titled Life and Adventures of Nat Love.
Who are the Compton Cowboys?
Wikipedia says they are a group of friends from childhood who use horseback riding and equestrian culture to be a positive influence on inner-city youth and to combat negative stereotypes about African Americans in Compton.
Bottom line
Sources estimate that Black cowboys made up about one in four of those who went up the trail, and about 15% of all cowboys by one census-based figure. Their story runs from enslaved cattle work in Texas to the rodeo arena and to rodeos that continue today. This guide is history, sourced to museums and encyclopedias, with each source named.
Where to go next
- History of the cowboy: from vaquero to custom boots
- Vaquero: the Mexican cowboy who shaped the American cowboy
- The Field Guide
- Shop all boots
Sources: Wikipedia ("Black cowboys," "Cowboy," "Bill Pickett," "Nat Love," "Bass Reeves," "Bose Ikard," "Myrtis Dightman," "The Harder They Fall (2021 film)," "Compton Cowboys"); Autry Museum, "Black Cowboys: An American Story"; National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, "Black Cowboys: An American Story"; Smithsonian Magazine, "The Lesser-Known History of African-American Cowboys"; Texas State Historical Association, Handbook of Texas, "The Legacy of Black Cowboys in Texas History"; Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo, "About."
