The Long Ride Home: Black Cowboys in America by Ron Tarver

Acclaimed photographer and Swarthmore College art professor Ron Tarver corrects the American cowboy narrative with The Long Ride Home: Black Cowboys in America (George F. Thompson Publishing, 2024). From ranches to city streets, Tarver’s photographs reveal the beauty, romance, and visual poetry of Black cowboys throughout the country.

In The Long Ride Home, Tarver illuminates the enduring heritage of Black cowboys through 110 photos made in the early '90s, at the start of this 30-year (ongoing) project. Pictured are cowboys and cowgirls of all ages, Black-owned ranches and rodeo operations, parades, urban cowboys, and retired cowhands. In addition, Art T. Burton, a distinguished historian, author, and expert on Black cowboys, provides a comprehensive essay on the icons who shaped America.

Tarver, a Pulitzer Prize-, Pew Fellowship-, and Guggenheim Fellowship-winning photographer is a natural pioneer of contemporary Black cowboy photography. Growing up in Fort Gibson, Okla., with Black cowboys as an ordinary part of his life, he rode horses, went to rodeos, spent summer days on his cousin's ranch, or working on local farms. His grandfather, Thomas Wilson, was a working cowboy in the 1940s. His father, Richard, was an avid photographer who documented the local Black community, teaching Tarver how to do the same.

When Tarver moved to Philadelphia in 1983, he was surprised by how uninformed people were about Black cowboys. The revelation spurred his dedication to photographing of Black cowboys, including on assignments for National Geographic and The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Tarver’s retrospective arrives right on time, showcasing the trailblazers who are bringing wider recognition to Black cowboys for their vital role in American history and contemporary culture. Across music, fashion, and film, works centering Black cowboy culture — such as Beyonce’s Cowboy Carter (2024), Pharrell Williams’ Louis Vuitton American Western FW24 Collection, David Oyelowo's Lawmen: Bass Reeves (2023), Tanner Adell’s Buckle Bunny (2023), Jordan Peele's Nope (2022), Idris Elba’s Concrete Cowboy (2021), and Lil Nas X’s time-travel western Old Town Road (2019) — have reached indelible success.

The Long Ride Home: Black Cowboys in America is now available for pre-order from Amazon and GFT Publishing, and will be released on September 7, 2024. In celebration of The Long Ride Home’s release, 40 large format prints will travel the states in an exhibition sponsored by The Print Center in Philadelphia.