The Long Ride Home: Black Cowboys in America

Although Black cowboys have been a fixture on the American landscape since the nineteenth century, few people are aware of their enduring contributions to the history of the West and how their unique culture continues to thrive in urban as well as rural areas all over the country.

The Long Ride Home: Black Cowboys in America is among the first books to tell the story of the Black cowboy experience in contemporary America.

The book features Ron Tarver’s beautiful, compelling, and often surprising contemporary images of African American cowboys that not only convey the Black cowboy’s way of life and its rich heritage, but also affirm a thriving culture of Black-owned ranches and rodeo operations, parades, inner-city cowboys, retired cowhands, and Black cowgirls of all ages, too.

Tarver, who comes from a family of Black cowboys in Oklahoma, uses his artistry to question, if not upend, long-held notions of what it means to be a cowboy and, with that, what it means to be an American.

The Long Ride Home couldn’t be more timely, coming on the heels of Beyonce’s hit album, Cowboy Carter (2024), and films such as Lil Nas X’s hit time-travel Western, “Old Town Road” (2019), and Idris Elba’s Concrete Cowboy (2021). The latter was based on Greg Neri’s book, Ghetto Cowboy (2013), about Philadelphia’s contemporary African American cowboy culture. Many of Tarver’s images were made in some of the same Philadelphia neighborhoods.

In addition to Tarver’s photographs, The Long Ride Home includes an essay by Art T. Burton, an expert on the history of Black cowboys. This book is both a tribute to and a celebration of the Black cowboy in America, providing an invaluable and unique perspective on American history and culture as well as the Black experience in America.

Tarver, a Pulitzer prize-winning photographer, began this project thirty years ago, spotlighting generations of cowboys, cowgirls, and rodeo queens. His collection of 20,000 images brings their untold stories to light.

The Long Ride Home captures more than twenty years of Black cowboy culture across America. 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.

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.

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

For more details and photos from the book, please visit www.rontarverphotographs.net/the-long-ride-home. Purchase the book at www.gftbooks.com/books_Tarver.html.

Discover the rich history and creativity of Black Cowboy culture!

Ron Tarver’s The Long Ride Home:Black Cowboys in America beautifully captures the untold stories of Black cowboys across America, showcasing their enduring legacy through 110 stunning photographs. This powerful collection shines a light on the Black Cowboys who shaped history and continue to inspire today.