Hey, what's up? It's Gustavo Riano.

Every once in a while, I pass over the mic to one of my awesome colleagues, and today,

I handed over to Tyrone Beeson.

For the last year, Tyrone's been traveling around the country for a series on racing culture

in America.

In it, he explores the things that bind us, makes sense of the things that tear us apart,

and search for signs

of healing in America through the lens of a black man. We had Tyrone on last year in the lead-up to

the 2022 midterms, and today he's going to be talking about a subject close to my heart,

cowboy culture. When people today think of cowboys, too many folks think just of John Wayne or

Yellowstone or white people exclusively,

but the era popularly known as the Wild West was far more nuanced and diverse than people today might think.

Tyrone had his own revelations as he tried to understand a connection he never really knew about before.

That of black people in cowboy culture.

I'll tell you what, just some of the time stop you find your professional rodeo,

and I tell you, has heard 63 years old.

It was the annual Bill Pickett rodeo at the MGM Grand Arena, and I'd never seen anything like it.

The horseback rider waving the black red and green flag of black liberation.

The black cowboys and cowgirls riding tall in the saddle for the whole country to take in their glory.

The black rodeo clown who stole the show with his jokes an exaggerated southern draw.

And it was hard to conceal my amazement.

It was the first time the event had been nationally televised in its 40-year history.

...