Photographer Documents Black Cowboys Erased From History

When photographer Ivan McClellan drove four hours to an Oklahoma rodeo in 2015, he discovered thousands of Black cowboys and cowgirls who looked nothing like Hollywood's version of the Wild West. Men wore gold chains and Jordans while riding horses, women raced at 50 mph with long braids and acrylic nails, and gospel and hip-hop filled the air instead of twangy guitar.

It was the moment McClellan realized the movies had been lying to him his whole life. Growing up in Kansas City, he'd known Mr. Wills down the street who raised cattle in a ball cap and overalls, but never thought to call him a cowboy because he looked nothing like John Wayne.

That Oklahoma rodeo sparked a decade-long journey across America. McClellan began photographing Black cowboy and rodeo culture at ranches, homes, and events, documenting a community that's been central to American history but erased from its mythology.

His project "Eight Seconds" became a celebrated book in 2024, named after the time bull riders must stay mounted to score. But McClellan kept going, taking thousands more photos that felt even more urgent and intimate than the first collection.

Now he's releasing "Eight Seconds: Legacy in Motion" with 91 additional images. The photos show the real America that's been missing from Western films for generations.

Why This Inspires

Black cowboys aren't just historically accurate. They represent something deeper about American identity that's been missing from the national story.

McClellan points out that cowboy culture isn't just entertainment in America. It's myth-building that shapes how we see ourselves as resilient, independent, and gritty.

"That Black people have been excluded from that icon" matters, he explains, because it erases a community from the very definition of American character. His photos aren't correcting history, they're revealing the truth that was always there.

McClellan didn't stop at documentation either. He organized his own rodeo under the Eight Seconds project, putting significant prize money into the hands of Black competitors while continuing to photograph their stories.

The culture he discovered looks far more like modern America than any Hollywood Western. Basketball shorts and cowboy hats coexist naturally, mixing tradition with contemporary Black culture in ways that feel both familiar and revolutionary.

These images connect the dots between the real American West and the people who actually built it. They show Mr. Wills and Junebug and thousands of others who've been cowboys all along, just without the movie cameras pointing their way.

McClellan's work proves that the most American story of all includes everyone who lived it, not just the versions Hollywood chose to tell.