#ivan mcclellan

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Eight Seconds: Black Rodeo Culture Cowboy prayer, Okmulgee, Oklahoma, 2020 Photographed by Ivan McClellan

[thechanelmuse]

Black Cowboys and Rodeo around America photographed by Ivan McClellan 

[odinsblog]

It wasn't a place that we felt like we belonged.

All of this beauty and energy and environment just stuck to me.

I saw thousands of Black cowboys and they were doing the Cupid Shuffle in the desert and they were cooking turkey legs. And there were Black folks dressed like traditional cowboys. There were also Black folks riding their horses in Jordans and women riding with their braids blowing behind them and their hands with long acrylic nails clutching the reins.

There are Black cowboys pretty much everywhere. I mean, there are Black cowboys here in Portland, Oregon, where I live, which I think is the last place that I would have expected to find them.

I went all the way to Oklahoma to realize that there were cowboys up the road from me who have been there for four generations ... You'd be hard pressed to find a part of America where there wasn't at least some some portion of this culture.

Up until a few years ago, I really thought that term cowboy was a joke when applied to a Black person.

But ultimately, cowboy became a shorthand for our noblest ideals.

A lot of these things our popular culture is hesitant to attribute to a Black person. So I think to have a cowboy rushing in, saving the day with a Black face just didn't jibe with the stories that Hollywood was trying to tell. I think it's erasure. I think it's at best, laziness, at worst, very intentional and malicious. But I'm excited to see that transforming before my eyes.

—Ivan McClellan

[crashcollateralsuccess]

"Eight Seconds: Black Rodeo Culture" by Ivan McClellan

[99thkamikaze]

photographer Ivan McClellan

[yallmeansall]

Okmulgee, OK | Photos by Ivan McClellan

[guy60660]

Ivan McClellan | The Guardian

[goawaywithjae]

Go away with ... Ivan McClellan

Photojournalist and filmmaker Ivan McClellan said that growing up, he enjoyed watching westerns like “Gunsmoke” and “Bonanza.” However, he w

Photojournalist and filmmaker Ivan McClellan said that growing up, he enjoyed watching westerns like “Gunsmoke” and “Bonanza.” However, he wondered why there weren’t any Black cowboys.

“I rarely saw representation of people who looked like me in these shows,” said McClellan, 41. “When I discovered the unique blend of Black culture and western culture, it ignited something in me. I felt a strong desire to document and share this overlooked aspect of American history. Over the last few decades, I’ve developed meaningful relationships within the Black rodeo community and have been dedicated to showcasing their stories and contributions.”