For Juneteenth, a celebration of the liberation and escape that Black Americans found on horses.
, Black equestrians display their prowess as bareback riders, barrel racers, and steer wrestlers. Often accompanied by food and music, these events, echo the celebratory atmosphere found in many Black communities on the holiday. They are also a reminder that horses are intimately tied to the histories of Black freedom and survival at the heart of Juneteenth.
Many states, including my own, have less recognized emancipation dates, whose histories provide important localized context about the Reconstruction era. But Juneteenth—although belonging first and foremost to Black Texans—has spread to Black communities throughout the United States since its inception, becoming a nationwide day for historical reflection and summertime celebration.
In 1860, nearly 200,000 slaves lived in Texas, often tending horses belonging to white cattle ranchers, farmers, and speculators. Throughout the plantation era, enslaved Black people commonly worked as stable hands, horse trainers, jockeys, and grooms. Horses were used as colonial symbols of wealth and power, as well as for entertainment. To maintain their horses, white colonists relied on generations of Black labor and equine knowledge.
But although Black slaves were exploited for their expertise with horses, that skill set also offered opportunities for resistance. Countless 19th-century notices for escaped slaves describe them fleeing plantations on stolen horses. In former slave Lewis Clarke’s, he writes, “I saddled my pony … put my clothes into a pair of saddlebags … and thus equipped set sail for the North Star.
After emancipation, former slaves found work as cowhands, building the horse and ranch culture that became synonymous with the American West. While romantic depictions of Wild West Black cowboys abound, the story is of course more complicated—one in which the boundaries of agency, imperial conscription, and economic need are continually blurred. Black cowboys weredeployed by the U.S. Army to defend white settlements and advance the cause of Manifest Destiny.
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