Story by: Gail Nobles
Photo: Kate Miyamoto / USFWS
Usage: CC BY 4.0 DEED
https://flic.kr/p/bxPYMR

When I was growing up, I didn't think black Cowboys existed. I never saw them in history books in school, and in the television world of course, I saw the Long Ranger, Clint Eastwood, Charles Bronso, and John Wayne. There were some black westerns made in the 70s, but I never saw them in those days. What we did not know in the old days, we were probably looking at it dead in the face through great grandparents great, aunts, and uncles. If you were not told about the past family history, you walked around not knowing.

Black cowboys have been around for years. Originally the white Cowboys were called cowhands and the African-Americans were referred to as Cowboys.

There are still African-American Cowboys today. There's a professional rodeo cowboy who specializedcin bull riding. He was the 1982 Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association World Champion bull rider. He is the first African-American cowboy to win a world championship and professional rodeo. He was included into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 1996. His name is Charles Sampson. He retired in 1994, but he spent his retirement doing ads for companies like Wrangler Jeans and Timex.

To learn more about Charles Sampson go to charliesampson.com you can see videos his gallery and more. I'm Gail Nobles. Thank you for listening.