How the Original Black Cowboys Galvanized Today’s Western Takeover

In the summer of 2023, popular culture was obsessing over the color pink due to Greta Gerwig’s Barbie — but by the fall, soccer kits were all anyone could talk about. Then with the turn of the new year, it seemed that cowboy hats and western boots, came back into prominence, shifting the collective gaze to a vital culture of the American experience. Moments that spurred the trend and the ensuing discussions around it into high gear include Pharrell Williams’ Western-themed Fall/Winter 2024 collection at Louis Vuitton, a Black Pioneer collection from Timberland and of course Beyonce’s new album, Cowboy Carter. But as the Wild West moves beyond fashion and into the parameters of popular culture, it’s not just a new “core.” Instead, the creatives pushing the conversation are taking a larger viewpoint on the narratives of Black and Indigenous people within Western and Country culture.

The current pop culture foray into country/western culture began in full with Pharrell Williams’ Louis Vuitton’s FW24 menswear show during Paris Fashion Week in January. A departure from the streetwear-infused looks of the last few seasons, Williams’ latest vision sent denim ensembles, embroidered tops, ruched blouse-like tops, boot-cut pants, glittering jackets, updated tailoring and more down the runway. Across the entirety of the collection, the devil was in the details with pieces like a cacti-adorned button-down shirt or floral sequin embroidered knitwear, while cowboy attire featured a portfolio of fabrics spanning cotton, denim, suede, calfskin, silk and fur.

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Louis Vuitton

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Louis Vuitton

But the importance of the collection went beyond the immediately eye-catching styles. For Williams, the collection was an implicit and explicit exhibition of Black and Indigenous history. “When you see cowboys portrayed, you only see a few versions. You never really get to see what some of the original cowboys looked like,” he said to Vogue Runway post-show. “They looked like us, they looked like me. They looked Black. They looked Native American.” Whether it be famed names like William “Bill” Pickett, Nat Love, Bass Reeves or those unknown, Black cowboys alongside Native American and Mexican cowboys were vital to the growth of the American West as they aided in the transformation of the cattle industry. Typically left out of the broader discourse of the West, Black cowboys accounted for at least one-fourth of the cowboys who voyaged across the country.

Erwin E. Smith—history And Art Collection/Alamy

Through the tool of fashion, Vuitton’s show under Williams’ stewardship offered a peek into the importance of this history. For example, the designer/creative director enlisted the help of the Oklahoma Cowboys — a community-based organization that celebrates Black cowboy history alongside exposing Black youth to equestrianism and outdoor activities — for the show. Oklahoma Cowboys members Ronnie Davis and Taylor Williams even walked in the show, bringing the organization to a global audience. But the show’s work didn’t stop there. Select accessories were created with the help of the Dakota and Lakota tribes – seeing bags embroidered with the Dakota flower and hand-painted parfleche. Additionally, the opening and closing music was co-composed by Williams and Lakota “Hokie” Clairmont, and performed by the Native Voices of Resistance.

In the same month, Timberland launched its Black Pioneer Collection as an ode to Black American frontier trailblazers and their history. To bring forth the collection and its accompanying campaign, the footwear company joined forces with the Oklahoma Cowboys. Whether it be the aged history of Black cowboys out West or even people today who ride down south in places like Louisiana and Texas, the effort was meant to showcase the beauty and rich history of Black pioneers.

“It is important to reclaim space in nature because it is an integral part of our ancestry. Our ancestors were mothers and fathers of the land, so our abilities are endless from an agricultural aspect,” said Oklahoma Cowboys founder, Jakian Parks. “Black explorers need to activate the skills already engrained within them. Black curiosity is power.”

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Timberland

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Timberland

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Timberland

Across footwear and apparel featuring items like Timberland’s signature Premium 6-Inch Boot to embroidered hoodies, the wardrobe looked to design elements of African-American and Americana style through embroidered tree elements across hoodies, tees and footwear for a nature-meets-casualwear approach. Aside from the garments themselves, the partnership’s beauty is seen in the Oklahoma shot campaign that reveals generations of Black Cowboys and Cowgirls.

Then to shake things up, this past February during Superbowl Sunday, Beyoncé announced her country-themed Renaissance: Act II album. Entitled Cowboy Carter, the album marks Beyoncé’s inaugural country album. Taking to Instagram, Beyoncé stated, “This album has been over five years in the making. It was born out of an experience I had years ago where I did not feel welcomed…and it was very clear that I wasn’t. But, because of that experience, I did a deeper dive into the history of country music and studied our rich musical archive.”

Beyoncé

Presumably, Beyoncé was referring to her “Daddy Lessons” performance with The Chicks (formerly known as The Dixie Chicks) during the 50th Country Music Awards in 2016. Although a one-of-kind event given Beyoncé’s performance debut at the CMA’s and with The Chicks no less, the star’s appearance at the CMA’s was met with both acclaim and backlash – with social media hosting a great deal of disdain for the star’s participation. The moment once again highlighted bigoted discourse in America and the current controversial politics of country music due to the genre’s widespread exclusion of Black artists. So with Cowboy Carter, Beyoncé celebrates the full history of the genre – paying homage to core Black and White figures in Country music with features from Dolly Parton, Linda Martell and Willie Nelson. But where what’s equally important about Cowboy Carter is Beyonce’s demonstration that Country music is not singular. Embedded in the album are subtle notes of pop and hip-hop for a contemporary touch alongside features from Willie Jones and Shaboozey who are both known for their cross-genre musical construction – blending country with hip-hop.

In addition to figures like Jimmie Rodgers who is referred to as the “Father of Country Music,” African-American presence within the genre traces back to the late eighteenth century with folk spirituals created by Southern slaves. When the blues came around in the 1860s, it also served as a precursor to the modern understanding of “country” or “country-western music” as the genre has mixed elements of folk music, blues and even jazz through time. But Black presence in the genre did not stop there, as figures like the blues and gospel guitarist and folk musician Lesley “Esley” Riddle, Rufus “Tee Toy” Payne and more. What’s special about these figures is that their work existed alongside and sometimes influenced focal White artists in the genre like the Carter Family, Hank Williams and Johnny Cash.

By crafting Cowboy Carter, Beyoncé’s latest not only looks at the multifaceted fullness of country music and its history but also how it exists within a contemporary lens. Perhaps what can easily describe her approach with the album is Linda Martel’s words at the beginning of “Spaghetti:” “Genres are a funny little concept, aren’t they? Yes, they are. In theory, they have a simple definition that’s easy to understand. But in practice, well, some may feel confined.” Cowboy Carter breaks that refinement by acknowledging the history of country music, while also giving it a more elastic definition.

Beyoncé

But that’s just it, history and elasticity. Whether it be Pharrell’s Western-themed collection FW24 collection at Louis Vuitton, Timberland’s Black Pioneer Collection or Beyonce’s Cowboy Carter album, each touches on the rich history of Black and Indigenous people’s typically unmentioned presence in American history. In addition to acknowledging history, the creative projects dually reveal that said presence in the country sphere is still alive today – demonstrating the reality of ongoing history and the power of an ever-expanding visibility.