How the West Really Was

Black Rodeo: A History of the African American Western by Mia Mask

non-fiction

University of Illinois Press, February 2023

from the introduction:

Black Rodeo: A History of the African American Western addresses the social and political relationship of western films from this [Civil Rights era] period to Black Power and African American liberation...

Because "Buck [and the Preacher]" and "[Black] Rodeo" [films] captured the shifting political zeitgeist, and still endure the test of time as politically and aesthetically progressive cinematic texts, this book-length study is titled: Black Rodeo: A History of the African American Western.

The combination of preface and acknowledgments, introduction, five chapters that include reproductions of photos from some of the films mentioned, the appendix of the transcript of an enlightening interview between the author and Jeff Kanew, the director of the 1972 documentary "Black Rodeo" that inspired the book, the comprehensive notes, detailed filmography, bibliography, and index make this a must-read for everyone who's interested in film, history, politics, sports, comics, and the ways in which they collide, overlap, and move society forward.

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