#black american culture
In the 1800s, 1 in 4 cowboys were Black in the Old West.
The Federation of Black Cowboys
They were formed in 1994 in Queens, NY by Virginia-native Ellis “Mountain Man” Harris (first photo), Brooklyn-native Kesha “Mama” Morse (photoed sitting atop the hay), North Carolina-native Arthur “J.R.” Fulmore (photoed holding the saddles) and some other Black Americans to promote the knowledge and heritage of the “Black West” in the East coast.
They teach young kids the art of western horsemanship, the skills required to properly care for a horse and aim to upkeep the tradition with their descendants, as well as stories of Black American historical figures for all such as: Bill Pickett, Nat Love, Bass Reeves, and Stagecoach Mary.
Mountain Man was inspired to form the likeminded crew after watching the first Black Rodeo in Randall’s Island, west of Harlem, in 1971. The likes of Muhammad Ali rolled through:
In 2016, with declining membership and dwindling finances, The FBC lost their long held stables and ability to host youth programs at the same capacity. The presence of Black American residents in New York, especially the 5 boroughs, drastically shifted stemming from decades prior and presently due to many being forced to uproot since then: the New Great Migration. (I always say we’re some rare breeds out here.) In spite of it all, it’s warming to know that the crew is able to continue to thrive.
As for the photoset, most of them were captured by Paul Collins and Brad Trent.
SN: And yes that’s Beyoncé with the crew.
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Marian Anderson broke the color barrier at the Metropolitan Opera in 1955 when she starred in Verdi’s Un Ballo en Maschera. A new live recording of her performance has just been released. To hear her sing phrases like “Il tetto mio penetra,” in her big Act 1 aria, is to hear a voice that Arturo Toscanini said comes around only once in a century.
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Addison Scurlock (June 19, 1883 – December 16, 1964) was an African American photographer, founder of The Scurlock Studio, and businessman who became prominent in the early and mid-20th century for photographing Black Washington.
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Rest in peace to author and Nobel laureate Toni Morrison! She was the first Black American woman to win a Nobel Prize. She was a towering force who spoke about the Black American experience. She has such a special place in my heart and she’s an inspiration to so many. (18 February 1931 - 05 August 2019)
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I’m so happy to be able to have witnessed two landmark wins in Black history. Ruth E. Carter became the first Black person to win an Academy Award for Costume Design. Hannah Beachler became the first Black person to win an Academy Award for Production Design. They are 2 of 3 Black women who have won Academy Awards for things besides acting and they brought home Marvel’s first two Oscars ever! Black Americans continue to break barriers and this is such an impactful moment for Black American women, especially those interested in film! Congratulations to Black Panther!
Continuing the celebration of the photographer’s birthday today, a selection of Carl Van Vechten’s brilliant color portraits of African American performers: Billie Holiday, Geoffrey Holder, Pearl Bailey, Carmen De Lavallade, Ella Fitzgerald, Joyce Bryant, Harry Belafonte, Ethel Waters, James Earl Jones, and Blanche Dunn.
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From National Geographic: The Gullah Geechee people are descendants of West African slaves brought to the coasts of the Carolinas, Georgia, and northern Florida, whose geographic isolation helped them retain a distinct culture and language. In chronicling the injustice her ancestors faced, South Carolina Gullah storyteller Theresa Jenkins Hilliard seeks to make their struggle real and relevant to younger generations.
As of now the Gullah Geechee people are fighting for their ancestral land and against the erasure of their culture. I encourage my followers and everyone who reblogs or likes this to share information on how we can help them!
![eternallybeautifullyblack: The African-American Suffragists History Forgot by Lynn Yaeger [T]hough](https://64.media.tumblr.com/04d1fb06dd46f43a04c58d11fc04289a/tumblr_nwq9ah9cFi1rkianko1_1280.jpg "eternallybeautifullyblack: The African-American Suffragists History Forgot by Lynn Yaeger [T]hough")
The African-American Suffragists History Forgot
by Lynn Yaeger
[T]hough we may have vague notions of the American women who fought so heroically for the ballot on this side of the Atlantic, they are, in our minds, in our imaginations, in the photographs and first-person narratives that have come down to us, uniformly white people.
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