FROM THE "COWBOY CORE" TREND OF LOUIS VUITTON'S 7917 FALL/WINTER RUNWAY TO MORE BLACK COUNTRY ARTISTS LIKE WILLIE JONES, SHABOOZEY, AND TANNER ADELL ARE GAINING POPULARITY, WITH MANY BEING PROPELLED INTO THE SPOTLIGHT, A CONSUMER BEHAVIOR RESEARCH FIRM, PURCHASES OF WESTERN-STYLE BOOTS INCREASED BY OVER 20% IN THE WEEK FOLLOWING THE RELEASE OF "COWBOY CARTER" IN MARCH., CNBC REPORTS.
ROGER HARDAWAY, A HISTORIAN SPECIALIZING IN THE AMERICAN WEST AT NORTHWESTERN OKLAHOMA STATE UNIVERSITY, ELUCIDATES THAT FOLLOWING THE CIVIL WAR, EUROPEANS ESTABLISHED RANCHES ACROSS WYOMING, MONTANA, THE DAKOTAS, AND OTHER WESTERN STATES TO MEET THE INCREASING DEMAND FOR MEAT IN THE GROWING AMERICAN POPULATION. IN NEED OF LABOR, THEY WERE WILLING TO HIRE FORMERLY ENSLAVED INDIVIDUALS.
"THEY WERE PRIMARILY YOUNG ADULTS WITHOUT FAMILIES, AS THE WORK WAS DEMANDING AND REMOTE. HOWEVER, THEY COULD EARN A RESPECTABLE INCOME BECAUSE THEIR SKILLS WERE HIGHLY VALUED AND THEY DID NOT FACE THE SAME LEVEL OF OPPRESSION AS OTHER FORMERLY ENSLAVED INDIVIDUALS "
ROGER HARDAWAY
HOWEVER, MANY AMERICANS LACK BURNETT'S LEVEL OF EDUCATION ON THIS TOPIC.
OFTEN, OUR INITIAL EXPOSURE TO THE COWBOY ARCHETYPE COMES FROM POPULAR CULTURE, SUCH AS WESTERN FILMS STARRING ACTORS LIKE JOHN WAYNE OR CLINT EASTWOOD. DURING THE 1950S AND 1960S, NUMEROUS CHILDREN PLAYED WITH WHITE COWBOY TOYS, OFTEN DEPICTED IN CONFLICT WITH CARICATURED AND VILIFIED NATIVE AMERICAN FIGURES. HARDAWAY EXPLAINS THAT THE MYTH OF THE COWBOY ORIGINATED IN LATE 19TH-CENTURY DIME NOVELS AND LATER BECAME ENTRENCHED IN 20TH-CENTURY CINEMA. SINCE THE PRIMARY AUDIENCE FOR BOTH MEDIUMS WAS WHITE, PUBLISHERS AND FILMMAKERS CRAFTED A FICTIONALIZED VERSION OF THE COWBOY THAT THEY BELIEVED WOULD RESONATE WITH VIEWERS.
IN RECENT DECADES, THERE HAS BEEN A CONCERTED EFFORT TO RECTIFY THIS SKEWED NARRATIVE. HISTORIANS HAVE PENNED NUMEROUS BOOKS EXPLORING THE HISTORY AND EXPERIENCES OF BLACK COWBOYS. A 2016 EXHIBIT TITLED BLACK COWBOY IN HARLEM SHOWCASED THIS HISTORY THROUGH PHOTOGRAPHS AND VIDEOS. ADDITIONALLY, BURNETT HOSTS A PODCAST CALLED BLACK COWBOYS ON IHEARTRADIO, WHICH DELVES INTO THIS RICH CULTURAL HERITAGE.
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