African American westerns have a rich cinematic history and visual
culture. Mia Mask examines the African American western hero within the
larger context of film history by considering how Black westerns evolved
and approached wide-ranging goals. Woody Strode's 1950s transformation
from football star to actor was the harbinger of hard-edged western
heroes later played by Jim Brown and Fred Williamson. Sidney Poitier's
Buck and the Preacher provided a narrative helmed by a groundbreaking
African American director and offered unconventionally rich roles for
women. Mask moves from these discussions to consider blaxploitation
westerns and an analysis of Jeff Kanew's hard-to-find 1972 documentary
about an all-Black rodeo. The book addresses how these movies set the
stage for modern-day westploitation films like Django Unchained.
A first-of-its kind survey, Black Rodeo illuminates the figure of the
Black cowboy while examining the intersection of African American film
history and the western.