The Forgotten Cowboys (documentary)

Interesting article at CNN about a new documentary on African American cowboys, The Forgotten Cowboys. Click on the excerpt to go to the article:

During the 17th and 18th century, many slaves were displaced from areas of Western Africa where cattle herding cultures — as depicted in 4,000 year old cave paintings at Tassili n’Ajjer, in the south of modern-day Algeria — had existed for millennia.

But historians say that those who became cowboys in the 19th century joined a new cultural tradition — developed in the company of their European and Native American counterparts — with different breeds of cattle and new techniques.

Life for a black cowboy was tough, explains Michael Searles, Emeritus Assistant Professor of History at Augusta State University, who has edited an anthology of writing on the subject.

“Black cowboys were sometimes expected to do … more than their white counterpart — in other words, some of the roughest work.”

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