A photographer documented Black cowboys across the U.S. for a new book
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Keary Hines, Prairie View, Texas.Ivan McClellan -
Riders pass a baton during a Pony Express relay race in Okmulgee, Okla.Ivan McClellan -
Rodney & RJ, McCalla, Ala.Ivan McClellan -
Jadayia Kursh, Okmulgee, Okla.Ivan McClellan -
Patrick Liddell, Las Vegas, Nevada.Ivan McClellan / Ivan McClellan -
Bull Riders, Rosenberg, Texas.Ivan McClellan -
Rodeo Queen, Okmulgee, Okla.Ivan McClellan
As a child growing up in Kansas City, Ivan McClellan would sing the national anthem at the American Royal rodeo with a youth choir. Those performances are some of his fondest memories, but they're also bittersweet.
That's because just about everybody else around him was white.
"It wasn't a place that we felt like we belonged," McClellan told Morning Edition host A Martínez.
Learning about Black rodeos as an adult came as a revelation to him. McClellan spent nearly a decade documenting this unique culture all across the United States.
His forthcoming photobook, Eight Seconds: Black Rodeo Culture, out April 30 from publisher Damiani Books, features highlights from that journey. The title refers to the minimum amount of time a rider has to stay on a horse or other livestock in order to register a score during a competition.
"All of this beauty and energy and environment just stuck to me," McClellan said about his first encounter with a Black rodeo. "I saw thousands of Black cowboys and they were doing the Cupid Shuffle in the desert and they were cooking turkey legs. And there were Black folks dressed like traditional cowboys. There were also black folks riding their horses in Jordans and women riding with their braids blowing behind them and their hands with long acrylic nails clutching the reins."
That event, the Roy Leblanc Invitational Rodeo in Oklahoma, is one McClellan has come to dub "the Super Bowl of Black rodeos." It is the oldest of its kind in the country.
He began posting his photographs of the event online. As his social media audience grew, McClellan was soon traveling the country in search of similar happenings.
"There are Black cowboys pretty much everywhere. I mean, there are Black cowboys here in Portland, Ore., where I live, which I think is the last place that I would have expected to find them," said McClellan, who now runs his own rodeo.
"I went all the way to Oklahoma to realize that there were cowboys up the road from me who have been there for four generations ... You'd be hard pressed to find a part of America where there wasn't at least some some portion of this culture."
It's a narrative largely shunned by Hollywood and the broader mass culture, where the cowboy is consistently portrayed as a white male, be it John Wayne, Val Kilmer or on TV series like Bonanza (1959-73) and Gunsmoke (1955-75).
Up until a few years ago, "I really thought that term [cowboy] was a joke when applied to a Black person," McClellan said.
In fact, the term was once a pejorative for African Americans working on ranches and farms, while white cowboys were known as "cowhands."
But ultimately, cowboy became "a shorthand for our noblest ideals," McClellan said. "A lot of these things our popular culture is hesitant to attribute to a Black person. So I think to have a cowboy rushing in, saving the day with a black face just didn't jibe with the stories that Hollywood was trying to tell. I think it's erasure. I think it's at best, laziness, at worst, very intentional and malicious. But I'm excited to see that transforming before my eyes."
Beyoncé's recent country-influenced album Cowboy Carter is the latest iteration of that push for change in popular culture. Lil Nas X challenged the country genre in 2018 with his song "Old Town Road." It became a viral hit after sparking widespread conversations about genre gatekeeping and Black musicians' place within country culture.
"It was a perfect alley-oop. And Beyoncé is hanging on the rim right now," said McClellan. "Beyoncé is not only revealing Black cowboy culture, but she's transforming country music forever and tearing down genres in a way that that I don't think has ever been done."
For McClellan, there's now one place where he keeps returning over and over.
"As far as cultural impact, there's nothing like the Roy LeBlanc Invitational Rodeo," he said. "On the second weekend in August at about 8 p.m. when the sun is going down, everything is gold and all the athletes are filing into the arena for the grand entry. And that is where I like to take photos more than anywhere else on the entire planet."
The broadcast version of this story was produced by Lilly Quiroz. The digital version was edited by Obed Manuel.
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Transcript
LEILA FADEL, HOST:
Photographer Ivan McClellan has spent nearly a decade documenting Black cowboys. His new book, "Eight Seconds: Black Rodeo Culture, " is out next week. The title refers to the minimum amount of time a rider has to stay on an animal to get points from the judges.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
IVAN MCCLELLAN: It's a time that people live and die by. It's a time that you could get injured. It's a time that you could win thousands of dollars. It's a time that you prepare for weeks and years and your entire life for. That interval can last forever, seemingly, to the person on the back of an animal.
FADEL: Our co-host A Martínez spoke with McClellan about his journey traveling across the country to change perceptions around a culture and events that have long been overlooked.
MCCLELLAN: When the event starts, a singer comes out and sings "Lift Every Voice And Sing."
UNIDENTIFIED MUSICAL ARTIST: (Singing) Sing a song full of the hope that the present he has brought...
MCCLELLAN: And a rider rides around the arena with a green, black and red flag. And everybody stands up, and they take off their hat. And it's just this moment in America to absolutely recognize and celebrate Blackness. And that's something incredibly unique.
A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
You grew up in Kansas City, right? I mean, I can imagine maybe not in the city itself, but in the outskirts, there had to be a lot of rodeo kind of life.
MCCLELLAN: Yeah. There's a big rodeo in Kansas City called the American Royal, and we would go down there every year. You know, the thing that I remember the most as a kid was the smell. You would go in there and just get hit by the smell of the animals and the manure. And, you know, the other thing that really resonated for me for that rodeo was that everybody there was white. It wasn't a place that we felt like we belong.
MARTÍNEZ: So, Ivan, I grew up in Los Angeles. Have you heard of the Compton Cowboys?
MCCLELLAN: Absolutely, yeah. I'm good friends with the Compton Cowboys. I've photographed them.
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah, Black cowboys that live in Compton, Calif., the home of West Coast rap music, right? But the funny thing is, I remember as a little kid, when I saw them for the first time, I was surprised. And I think it has to do with just popular culture inundating my little brain with the image of the white cowboy. Was it the same effect for you? - like, thinking, oh, my gosh. Wait. I've never seen this before, because America and the media hadn't fed me a full picture yet.
MCCLELLAN: Yeah. I mean, the term cowboy for me meant John Wayne.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "RED RIVER")
JOHN WAYNE: (As Thomas Dunson) Get down off them horses. I don't favor looking up to the likes of you.
MCCLELLAN: It meant Doc Holliday in "Tombstone."
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "TOMBSTONE")
VAL KILMER: (As Doc Holliday) You're a daisy if you do.
MCCLELLAN: There was Sheriff Bart in "Blazing saddles.".
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "BLAZING SADDLES")
GENE WILDER: (As Jim) Look at that.
CLEAVON LITTLE: (As Sheriff Bart) Steady as a rock.
WILDER: (As Jim) Yeah. But I shoot with this hand.
MCCLELLAN: But I really thought that term was a joke when applied to a Black person.
MARTÍNEZ: One thing that was kind of a shock for me to learn is that the term cowboy used to be a pejorative term for Black riders. Tell us about that and how that worked.
MCCLELLAN: Yeah. It was a term specifically used for Black men. You know, if you were a white man, you were a cowhand or a cattle-puncher. If you were a Mexican, you were a vaquero or a charro. But if you were Black, you were called a cowboy, because, you know, you would call a Black man a boy. And this was a post-slavery term used for a lot of Black folks that had these skills of working farms and working the land that were now being paid to work on ranches and farms.
MARTÍNEZ: And you crisscrossed the country - right? - meeting Black cowboys.
MCCLELLAN: Yeah. There are Black cowboys pretty much everywhere. I mean, there are Black cowboys here in Portland, Ore., where I live, which I think is the last place that I would have expected to find them. I went all the way to Oklahoma to realize that there were cowboys up the road from me who have been there for generations. Of course, it is most prominent in Texas and Oklahoma. And across the South, you'll find riding clubs and people that work with horses down there.
MARTÍNEZ: Now, there's a rodeo that's nicknamed the Super Bowl of Black rodeo. So tell us about that, especially the way it kicks off.
MCCLELLAN: It's the Roy Leblanc Invitational Rodeo in Okmulgee, Okla. And as far as cultural impact, there's nothing like the Roy Leblanc Invitational Rodeo. On the second weekend in August, at about 8 p.m., when the sun is going down, everything is golden. All the athletes are filing into the arena for the grand entry. And that is where I like to take photos more than anywhere else on the entire planet.
MARTÍNEZ: Was it a revelation for you? Did you think, oh, my goodness - I can't believe it - I've never heard of this before?
MCCLELLAN: I hadn't heard about it at all. Somebody told me about it, and I thought they were messing with me. And I went. It was 105 degrees, and I saw thousands of Black cowboys. And they were doing the Cupid Shuffle in the dirt, and they were cooking turkey legs. And there were Black folks dressed like traditional cowboys. There were also Black folks riding their horses in Jordans and women riding with their braids blowing behind them and their hands with long acrylic nails clutching the reins.
MARTÍNEZ: Why do you think this culture has been overlooked?
MCCLELLAN: I think the cowboy in America is a shorthand for our noblest ideals. It's a representation of independence and grit and nobility and a lot of these things that popular culture is hesitant to attribute to a Black person. You know, I think it's erasure, but I'm excited to see that transforming before my eyes.
MARTÍNEZ: I think of Beyonce's album, "Cowboy Carter," that's out right now. And I think people are thinking, well, Black cowboy culture is having a moment. But I even go back as far as 2018, when Lil Nas X came out with "Old Town Road."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "OLD TOWN ROAD")
LIL NAS X: (Singing) Yeah. I'm going to take my horse to the old town road. I'm going to ride till I can't no more.
MCCLELLAN: Yeah. I remember they played it at a rodeo that I was at. It was the Country Boyz rodeo in Bristow, Okla., and the DJ played that song, and the crowd went crazy. I think Beyonce is not only revealing Black cowboy culture, but she's transforming country music forever and tearing down genres in a way that I don't think has ever been done.
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah. I think Lil Nas X probably set it up, but then Beyonce slammed it home.
MCCLELLAN: Exactly. Yeah. It was a perfect alley-oop. And Beyonce is hanging on the rim right now.
MARTÍNEZ: (Laughter) That's photojournalist Ivan McClellan. Thanks a lot.
MCCLELLAN: All right. Thanks so much. I appreciate it.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "TEXAS HOLD 'EM")
BEYONCE: (Singing) This ain't Texas, ain't no hold 'em. So lay your cards down, down... Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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