Photos: Bill Pickett Rodeo Comes to Los Angeles

Being from Kentucky and most of my dad’s family from Houston, I have a strong affinity for black cowboy culture. It’s ingrained in my family roots.

The Bill Pickett Rodeo Invitational showcases the great men and women from this great land coming together as Americans to celebrate Black rodeos from Oakland to Los Angeles to Fort Worth.

I met a 12-year-old boy named Harold Williams, whose age when he first rode a horse immediately caught my attention. “I was four months old,” Harold said in his Southern drawl. Harold is from Prairie View, Texas, home to a historically black college with the same name as the one my sister currently attends—reminding me of that little town where everyone got along so well. town. Harold was a prodigy in horseback riding and cowboying, astride and tethering a cow. A good Texas kid with guts.

In March, Texas native Beyoncé released her first country album, Cowboy Carter, making black cowboy culture more mainstream than ever. This resulted in a larger fan base for black culture in the American West. Women attending the rodeo wore sparkly cowgirl hats in homage to Beyoncé.

A boy smiles as another man's hand touches his cowboy hat.

1. A man laughs during the Bill Pickett Rodeo on July 20, 2024 in City of Industry. (Michael Blackshear/Los Angeles Times) 2. Daniel Montgomery, 10, smiled as he watched his father, Daunte, adjust his hat. (Michael Blackshear/Los Angeles Times) 3. Singer Howard Johnson waves his hat before the rodeo. (Michael Blackshear/Los Angeles Times) 4. Vanessa Bailey walked to her seat. (Michael Blackshear/Los Angeles Times)

Tensions have been stoked over a proposed ban on rodeos in Los Angeles, led by City Councilman Bob Blumenfield.

Valeria Howard, executive director of the Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo, opposed the ban.

“If Los Angeles bans rodeos, it’s only a matter of time before other California cities enact such bans. This ban would eliminate a cultural event that is important for Black people to come together.

Matthew Marshall, a denim enthusiast from Long Beach, also opposed the ban. He knew how a ban would affect their community.

“I grew up loving the Western community. It’s ingrained in our community,” Marshall said.

“You’re not taking something away from affluent areas. You’re taking away areas that are actually going to be hurt. I think when you deal with rodeos, a lot of people’s families are from Texans and Southerners and they still love horsemanship. and rodeos.

Marshall wants people to know that Rodeo Drive originated from the large rodeos that existed in the area and that the word “cowboy” came from black cattle workers. They were called “cowboys,” he said, while white cattle workers were called “cattlemen.”

A little boy is playing with a rope while being held by a man wearing a cowboy hat.

Oklahoma native Charles Williams shows Los Angeles locals a different culture with his Southern hospitality and drawl when he greets others with “Yes sir ” and calling people “little guys.”

Williams is one of many people who have made a career out of rodeo. That’s the beauty of black rodeo. Black and Western pride are tightly bound together. As the late, great Charles Pride once said, “That’s the country way.”