[WENDLE]

I want you to know that that film is propaganda. The blacks in this country have their own wonderful achievements in our vast society but one of them was not the real wild west.

[chajin]

IIRC, 1/3 of all cowboys were former slaves who had migrated west after the war.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

These guys might differ...

As background, the U.S. Army served as the official administrator of Yosemite and Sequoia national parks between 1891 and 1913, and, in that capacity, it helped create a model for park management as we know it today. These army troops were garrisoned at the Presidio of San Francisco during the winter months and served in the Sierra only during the summer months. This arrangement was an unusual duty for troops and greatly prized by army men with one army officer referring to the Sierra Nevada as the "Cavalryman's Paradise." Commanding officers became acting military superintendents for these national parks with two troops of cavalry, normally, assigned to each park. Each troop would be made up of approximately 60 men. The troops essentially comprised a roving economy-infusing money into park and local businesses-and thus their presence was generally welcomed. The presence of these soldiers as official stewards of park lands brought a sense of law and order to the mountain wilderness.

The hidden chapter of this U.S. Army history revolves around the participation of African-American troops of the 24th Infantry and 9th Cavalry, who protected both Yosemite and Sequoia national parks in 1899, 1903, and 1904. (The parks are located approximately 150 miles apart.) Most of these men were veterans of the Spanish-American War and the Philippine-American War in which they were called "Smoked Yankees." Many of them enlisted in the South where opportunities for African-Americans were limited to sharecropping, and other labor intensive work.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

one of them was not the real wild west.

Actually there were a number of black cowboys. Not as many as Mexican but they were there, mostly in Texas.

[alexander_busek]

The blacks in this country have their own wonderful achievements in our vast society but one of them was not the real wild west.

A very bold assertion. Can you provide any supporting evidence (aside from the dearth of Black actors in episodes of "Gunsmoke")?

Regards,

[TwelveOfTwenty]

The blacks in this country have their own wonderful achievements in our vast society but one of them was not the real wild west.

Not true, there were a few. Here are some links.

BlackCowboys.com

Some interesting stories, too.

[Dr. Ursus]

Bass Reeves would take offense with your statement.

[Tijeras_Slim]

I guess you missed Bass Reeves.

[Sasparilla]

...The blacks in this country have their own wonderful achievements in our vast society but one of them was not the real wild west...

You forget about the Buffalo Soldiers at Fort Davis, Texas,a black soldier cavalry unit who fought Comanches who attacked and killed settlers travelling West through Texas on their wagons.
Fighting Comanches killing settlers IS the real West, isn’t it?

[Sasparilla]

...The blacks in this country have their own wonderful achievements in our vast society but one of them was not the real wild west...

You forget about the Buffalo Soldiers at Fort Davis, Texas,a black soldier cavalry unit who fought Comanches who attacked and killed settlers travelling West through Texas on their wagons.
Fighting Comanches killing settlers IS the real West, isn’t it?

[Safetgiver]

but one of them was not the real wild west......UMMM, if you read, most cowboys in the West were blacks from the Civil War who went there to leave the South far behind and find real freedom. A LOT of law enforcement was blacks in the Indian Territories.