A History of Enslaved and Free Black Cowboys in the Southwest

A Lecture with Ronald W. Davis, II

Ronald W. Davis, II, Ph.D. candidate at the University of Texas at Austin and curator of American history at San Antonio’s Witte Museum, will present an illustrated lecture on the history of Black cowboys in the Southwest, particularly Texas, before the Civil War and in the period after Reconstruction. Davis will discuss the lived experience of Black cowboys, particularly how they navigated discrimination and racism in ranch life and during cattle drives, situations in which racial segregation was difficult to implement.

This event is part of The School for Advanced Research’s American Identities mini-festival illuminating diverse human experiences in the U.S. through lectures, music, film, and discussion. The event is co-presented with the New Mexico History Museum.