The Black Wild West

The story of how great heroes and white men won the American West is one of the West's most powerful myths. This special tells the flip side of that myth. The idea of being a cowboy exemplified freedom for many Americans. Yet few of us know that the first cowboys were actually enslaved Black men looking after cattle herds on Texas ranches. In 1875, one in four American cowboys were Black — Black sheriffs, Black trappers, and Black soldiers. Some had been adopted as children by Native American tribes, while others had escaped slavery. Historians chronicle the untold stories of Black settlers who journeyed to the Wild West in search of freedom and opportunity, examining their various roles. These anonymous heroes inspired many great Westerns, yet Hollywood has erased them from the silver screen. Pieced together from archives, carefully crafted reenactments, and firsthand historical accounts, America's Hidden Stories: The Black Wild West restores these invisible heroes to their rightful place in history.