The Long Ride Home:
The Black Cowboy Experience in America                     1993 - Ongoing

From the concrete jungles of the Northeast to the endless skies of the great West, and all that lays in between, the cowboy spirit thrives. The Long Ride Home comprises of photos exploring the lives of Black cowboys - men, women, and children. These are the multifaceted narratives intentionally forgotten in the great American myth of the West. The portraits reaffirm this thriving culture of Black owned ranches, rodeo operations, parades, inner-city cowboys, retired cowhands and young rodeo clowns. Few people are aware of the historical role that Black cowboys have played in the West, while still others question their authenticity. The image of the white male cowboy remains deeply ingrained in American culture, a vision rooted in segregation and anti-immigrant rhetoric.

 

Initially published in the Philadelphia Inquirer Sunday Magazine and Daily Paper in 1993, The Long Ride Home was then published on the National Geographic website for ten years.

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The Long Ride Home: Black Cowboys in America photo book released in 2024, accompanied by a traveling exhibition.