Good Morning POU!
This week we’ll look at the history of African Americans in the Rodeo Sports. Who knew we had such a rich history? To start, let’s take a look at the groundbreaking 1972 documentary Black Rodeo.
Black Rodeo is a 1972 documentary by filmmaker Jeff Kanew.
Black Rodeo captures the events surrounding the first-time performance of an all African American rodeo in Harlem, New York City. The documentary depicts that the people who attended the rodeo were awed to find African-American men and women actively involved in skills like bronc riding, calf roping and brahma bull riding.
Actor Woody Strode attended the rodeo and appears in the film as its narrator. He imparts a number of stories that show the participation of blacks in the development of the American Old West.
The film captures the appearance of Muhammad Ali, who rides a horse on 125th Street (the main street in Harlem), trades friendly verbal jabs with the cowboys and straps on chaps and rides a bull.
The rodeo events in the film are set to the music of Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Little Richard, Lee Dorsey, Sammy Turner, Little Eva and other R&B acts.
The film was released by Cinerama Releasing in the spring of 1972.
Pictures from various Black Rodeos across the country:
Arizona
Texas
