At the 67th Annual Grammy Awards in February 2025, Beyoncé finally won Album of the Year, for 'Cowboy Carter.' The album serves as a journey through the reinvention of Americana, spotlighting the overlooked contributions of Black pioneers to American musical and cultural history, including those made by Black cowboys.
Black cowboy culture has its roots in the frontier lands of late 1800s Texas, when African Americans accounted for up to an estimated 25% of cowboys working in the territory. History, however, has often overlooked this fact. So what was the contribution made by these Black cowhands and herdsmen in building the American West, and who are the pioneers we need to acknowledge?
Click through and explore the fascinating origins of Black cowboy culture.