The Black Western is any Western that puts the African American experience at its forefront. One of the more common experiences for those of African American heritage during the "Old West" would be the recently freed slave. Many Westerns take place soon after the American Civil War, so this would also be after the abolishment of slavery in the United States. This newfound liberty, along with a tortured past, makes for a compelling protagonist. They must beat the odds against constant oppression while living in a desolate setting that has little, or no, rule of law. These narratives are almost always led by someone of African or African/American heritage. The protagonist could be any number of stock characters (i.e., sheriff, outlaw, bounty hunter, cowboy, farmer, settler, etc.).
Bill Pickett, famed 101 Ranch Wild West Show performer, and Anita Bush, "The Little Mother of Colored Drama," both appeared in two silent Westerns produced by Norman Studios: The Bull-Dogger and The Crimson Skull. The studio mainly produced "race films" that starred and were produced for African American audiences. Unfortunately, both films are now considered entirely lost, except for a small bit of The Bull-Dogger. Pickett is most remembered for his popularization of what he called "bull-dogging." Today, the technique is more commonly known as steer wrestling. In 1915, Bush founded the Anita Bush Stock Company. After the company's rights were bought by the Lafayette Theatre, the group's name was changed to the Lafayette Players. In 1920, she left the company to work for Norman Studios.
Herb Jeffries stars in Harlem on the Prairie as singing cowboy Jeff Kincaid. This will be the first of a series of Westerns featuring his singing cowboy character. In Jeffries' next film, The Two-Gun Man from Harlem, his character is renamed to Bob Blake, for there had been a change in producers that caused Jeffries to lose the rights to his Kincaid character. Jeffries had started his career as a singer, and it was during this time when he first conceived of a Western for African-American audiences. While touring with the Earl Hines Orchestra, he observed how an African-American boy had been excluded by his white friends because they had never heard of a black cowboy. Along with this, he bore witness to the large number of segregated theaters playing Westerns with predominantly white casts and wanted to tap into this market of a considerable size.
Sidney Poitier stars in his directorial debut alongside Harry Belafonte. Along with being renowned for their artistic abilities, Poitier and Belafonte are remembered for their civil rights activism. This film is notable as being one of the few Black Westerns that includes a cast that is predominantly African-American, as opposed to most that only included one or two as central characters. The film is very straightforward in its statement on race. Indigenous Peoples in the narrative are allies and the antagonists are Caucasian. The gang of white marauders are determined to rob the African-American settlers of their wealth, possessions, and land by preventing their passage West. This can be seen as an allusion to the struggle minorities faced before, during, and still after the civil rights movement throughout the mid-twentieth century.
Sergeant Rutledge
The story of Sergeant Rutledge, a 9th Cavalry officer on trial for rape and murder. Lt. Cantrell defends Rutledge as witnesses give testimony (relived in flashbacks) revealing the sergeant's gallantry, and the shocking truth behind the alleged crimes. Ford, who attacked racism in The Searchers, explores similar territory in this landmark Western, the power of which still rings out with uncommon force decades later.
Rio Conchos
An ex-Confederate, two Army officers, and a Mexican bandit team up to find the thieves who are supplying guns to renegade Indians and outlaws for the purpose of resurrecting the Civil War.
The Learning Tree
Based on Parks' semi-autobiographical novel, the film follows the journey of Newt Winger, a teenage descendant of Exodusters growing up in rural Kansas in the 1920s, as he experiences the bittersweet flowering of first love, finds his relationship with a close friend tested, and navigates the injustices embedded within a racist legal and educational system. Exquisitely capturing the bucolic splendor of its heartland setting, this landmark film tempers nostalgia with an incisive understanding of the harsh realities, hard-won lessons, and often wrenching moral choices that shape the road to self-determination of the young Black man at its center.
Buck and the Preacher
A trail guide and a con man preacher join forces to help a wagon train of former slaves who are seeking to homestead out West.
Blazing Saddles
Presents Mel Brooks' classic 1974 comedy western about a corrupt political boss who appoints an African-American as the sheriff and promptly becomes his most formidable adversary.
Take a Hard Ride
A loyal cowboy, whose boss died during an arduous cattle drive, vows to take the money made from the sale of the herd to the man's widow. Accompanied by two offbeat companions, he encounters killers, thieves, and a ruthless bounty hunter.
Rosewood
The true story of the 1923 razing of a black town in Florida, many of its people murdered over a lie. But some escaped and survived because of the courage and compassion of a few extraordinary people.
Wild Wild West
Special agent James West and fellow agent and crackerjack inventor Artemus Gordon team up on a daring assignment to stop legless Dr. Arliss Loveless and his diabolical plot for a Disunited States of America.
The Book of Eli
Eli walks alone in post-apocalyptic America. He heads west along the Highway of Death on a mission he doesn't fully understand but knows he must complete. In his backpack is the last copy of a book that could become the wellspring of a revived society. Or in the wrong hands, the hammer of a despot. Eli keeps his blade sharp and his survival instincts sharper as his quest thrusts him into a savage wasteland.
Django Unchained
Django, a former slave turned hired gun, heads back to the plantation to free his wife, Broomhilda, from the tyrannical plantation owner Calvin Candie, with the help of a German bounty hunter, Dr. King Shultz.
The Retrieval
1864: As war ravages the nation, on the outskirts of the Civil War, it is business as usual for slave-owners and traders. Will is a fatherless thirteen-year-old boy who survives by working with a white bounty hunter gang. They send him to earn the trust of runaway slaves in order to lure them back to the south. On a dangerous mission into the free north to find Nate, a fugitive freedman, things go wrong, and Will and Nate find themselves on the run.
Five Fingers for Marseilles
1980s South Africa: The community of Railway, attached to remote Marseilles, face brutal oppression and only the young 'Five Fingers' are willing to fight, until hot-headed Tau commits a terrible act and flees. Twenty years later, 'outlaw' Tau renounces violence and returns to Marseilles. It soon becomes clear that the town is in the grip of a new threat. Standing against old allies and new enemies, he'll put his life at risk for Marseilles. It's their duty to protect it. Even from each other.
Bull
After trashing her neighbor's house in a reckless teen rage, Kris is forced to help her neighbor, Abe Turner an ex-bull rider scraping by on the Texas rodeo circuit. While traveling with Abe, Kris discovers a passion for bull riding. Together, Kris and Abe forge an unexpected connection, helping each other see new possibilities and hope for the future before it's too late.
Nope
Two siblings who run a California horse ranch discover something wonderful and sinister in the skies above, and the owner of an adjacent theme park tries to profit from the mysterious, otherworldly phenomenon.
Outlaw Johnny Black
Hell-bent on avenging the death of his father, Johnny Black vows to gun down Brett Clayton and becomes a wanted man in the process while posing as a preacher in a small mining town that's been taken over by a notorious Land Baron.
The Good Lord Bird
Ethan Hawke stars as abolitionist John Brown in this Limited Event Series based on the award-winning novel. The story is told from the point of view of "Onion, " a fictional enslaved boy who becomes a member of Brown's motley family of abolitionist soldiers battling slavery in Kansas, and eventually finds himself in the famous 1859 Army depot raid at Harpers Ferry, an inciting incident of the Civil War. It's a humorous and dramatic tale of Antebellum America and the ever-changing roles of race, religion and gender in American society.
Lawmen: Bass Reeves
It follows the journey of Reeves and his rise from enslavement to law enforcement as one of the first Black U.S. Deputy Marshals west of the Mississippi. Despite arresting over 3,000 outlaws during his career, the weight of the badge was heavy, and he wrestled with its moral and spiritual cost to his beloved family.
Black Apache by
A gripping story of action in the Old West from Clay Fisher, a five-time Spur Award-winning author and recipient of the Levi Strauss Award for Lifetime Achievement. He was a legend with a blood price on his head both north and south of the border; a renegade, black West Point man now living among the hostile bronco Apaches, and waging a war of vengeance against two governments. But when a courageous Mestizo priest with a desperate dream needed a man of strength to fulfill his vision, there was only one warrior fierce enough to turn to. It was the one they called the Black Apache.
Black Hat Jack by
An Edgar and Bram Stoker Award-winning AuthorThe stories of African-Americans in the West have been consigned to the bottom shelf of recorded history and literature. Now, in the vein of the old dime novels with stories about the likes of Buffalo Bill, Wild Bill Hickok and Jesse James, comes the real story of Deadwood Dick, a black cowboy, buffalo soldier, Indian fighter, and general hell raiser. Here, Nat Love, the one and only Deadwood Dick, writes down his own version of events.
Black Powder, White Smoke by
For freed slave Honey Boutrille, "justice" is a word that no longer bears any weight. After he saves the life of a prostitute by shooting her white, would-be killer, the price on Honey's head sends him on the run. As he narrowly escapes scrape after scrape, he learns to keep one eye in front of him and one eye on his back. In California, "Twice" Emmerson begins a crime spree. His inflated pride and deadly temper make him a threat to anyone who crosses him. With greed as his driving force, he uses whatever means necessary to separate money from those who have it. As word of Boutrille and Emmerson spreads, and the number of bodies they leave behind increases, two men set out to find them. One, a hopeful writer, finds that the "Black Snake" may be more than he seems; the other, a showman, plans to promote Emmerson as a fresh, new Buffalo Bill. Through blood and treachery, love and hate, these four men discover the defining line between truth and fiction.
Buffalo Soldier Odyssey by
"SPUR AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR. Buffalo Soldier Odyssey is an inspiring story, based on true events, of men born into slavery, then rising above the legacy of their past to meet the challenges of newfound freedom in the face of adversity and deeply rooted racism. Freedom following the Civil War destruction of the plantation where Isaac "Ike" Casey was born and raised plunges the young man into a rapidly evolving world of violence and uncertainty. Directionless, he wanders the South in isolation, hunger, and clothing so badly worn he occasionally approaches nakedness. A chance encounter with a short-handed ship's captain provides Ike with a non-paying job aboard a cargo vessel. At journey's end, he finds himself deep in Texas. There, he is approached by a recruiting officer of the Ninth Regiment of Cavalry of the United States Army. Joining on the promise of three square meals a day, decent clothing, and $13 per month in pay, Ike begins an odyssey that will take him from a lifetime of passive servitude to one of strength and confidence as a member of the fabled Buffalo Soldiers. Through Private--then Corporal--Casey, we witness life in Company D of the Buffalo Cavalry--and the hardship and privation that plagued the black troopers, as well as their burgeoning pride as they face danger across the Texas frontier. They proved their mettle in scores of encounters with bandits and Indians as they escorted stagecoaches and wagon trains to far-flung outposts and protected the ever-expanding fringes of civilization against a savage land."
Comanche Sundown by
Comanche Sundown is the story of the great war chief Quanah Parker, a freed slave and cowboy named Bose Ikard, and the women they love. In 1869 Quanah and Bose do their best to kill each other in a brutal fight on horseback in West Texas. But over several years, through the flash and chaos of war and killing they discover that they are friends, not enemies. They change from violent unformed youths into men of courage and decency. The son of the ferocious warrior Nocona and the tragic captive Texan Cynthia Ann Parker, Quanah suffers the wound of being slurred and rejected by many Comanches as someone of impure blood and certain bad luck. When told he cannot marry his youthful love Weckeah, he rides off and joins another band of his people in the canyonlands and plains of the Texas Panhandle. Later, when Quanah has just emerged as a war chief in a daring rout of army cavalry, in defiance of elders and tradition he elopes with Weckeah and leads a following of the wildest Comanche bunch of all. The enslaved son of a white physician, Bose is freed by the Civil War and rides on trail drives of longhorns into New Mexico Territory that are led by the pioneering Charles Goodnight. Bose winds up captured, utilized, and eventually valued by Quanah and his people. That period in young Bose's life brings him into intoxicating friendship with Quanah's other wife, To-ha-yea, a Mescalero Apache and born heart-breaker. Comanche Sundown lays out a sprawling and plausible recast of Southwestern history that brings Pat Garrett, Billy the Kid, Bat Masterson, Colonel Ranald "Bad Hand" Mackenzie, and General William T. Sherman into one fray. In the tradition of Thomas Berger's Little Big Man, William Styron's The Confessions of Nat Turner, Larry McMurtry's Lonesome Dove, and Cormac McCarthy's All the Pretty Horses, Jan Reid's novel offers a rich blend of historical detail, exquisite eye for the terrain and the animals, and insight into the culture, customs, poetry, and dignity of Native Americans caught up in a desperate fight to survive.
Concrete Cowboy by
See the film on Netflix, starring Idris Elba and Caleb McLaughlin When Cole's mom dumps him in the mean streets of Philly to live with the dad he's never met, the last thing he expects to see is a horse--let alone a stable full of them. He may not know much about cowboys, but what he knows for sure is that cowboys ain't black, and they don't live in the 'hood. But in this 'hood, horses are a way of life, and when the City threatens to shut down the stables, Cole realizes it's time to stand up for what's right--the Cowboy Way.
Faraway Blue by
Williams is an ex-slave, a Civil War veteran and now a black horseback fighter in the white man's campaign to eradicate the Indian and occupy his ancient tribal lands. The Ninth Cavalry has one assignment: hunting and killing Apaches in the Black Range -- the faraway blue mountains of southeastern New Mexico Territory. Williams' particular nemesis is Nana, the old Warm Springs Apache chief who leads his tiny band of followers in strike after strike on mining camps and settlements, then vanishes like a wraith into the trackless hills separating New and Old Mexico.In the maddening cat-and-mouse pursuit, Williams is able to keep his sanity only because of his love for a beautiful young mulatto woman he has rescued from a frontier brothel -- and her love for Moses leads her to take a desperate chance when he marches out for his final meeting with the enemy.
First Dawn by
Best-selling author Judith Miller's first solo effort is a rich, textured saga set amid sharecroppers on the Kansas prairie. Freedom's Path book 1.
Gabriel's Story by
David Anthony Durham makes his literary debut with a haunting novel which, in the tradition of Cormac McCarthy's All the Pretty Horses, views the American West through a refreshingly original lens. Set in the 1870s, the novel tells the tale of Gabriel Lynch, an African American youth who settles with his family in the plains of Kansas. Dissatisfied with the drudgery of homesteading and growing increasingly disconnected from his family, Gabriel forsakes the farm for a life of higher adventure. Thus begins a forbidding trek into a terrain of austere beauty, a journey begun in hope, but soon laced with danger and propelled by a cast of brutal characters. Durham's accomplishment is not solely in telling one man's story. He also gives voice to a population seldom included in our Western lore and crafts a new poetry of the American landscape. Gabriel's Story is an important addition to the mosaic of our nation's mythology.
God's Country by
This 'comic and fierce' novel spoofs the classic Western format with the dark, incisive humor we've come to expect from its acclaimed author. The unlikely narrator through this tale of misadventures is one Curt Marder- gambler, drinker, cheat, and would-be womanizer. It's 1871, and he's lost his farm, his wife, and his dog to a band of marauding hooligans. With nothing to live on but a desire to recover what is rightfully his, Marder is forced to enlist the help of the best tracker in the West- a black man named Bubba. One of the earliest works anchoring Percival Everett's illustrious career, God's Country is by turns funny, shocking, and devastating. The unlikely narrator through this tale of misadventures is one Curt Marder- gambler, drinker, cheat, and would-be womanizer. Unfortunately, he's a coward. When he sees a band of "Injun impersonators" pillaging his home, he has "half a mind to ride down that hill and say somethin', but it was just half a mind after all." It's 1871, and he's lost his farm, his wife, and his dog to a band of marauding hooligans. With nothing to live on but a desire to recover what is rightfully his, Marder enlists the help of the best tracker in the West- a Black man named Bubba. With an introduction from renowned novelist Madison Smartt Bell, this is the perfect edition to add to your growing Percival Everett collection. As NPR's Michael Schaub noted, "It's impossible to predict what the next Everett book will bring, but it's always a safe bet that it's going to be great."
Hanging Woman Creek by
Barnabus Pike is no gunfighter and not much of a street fighter. Eddie Holt is a black boxer in a white man's world. They've both taken their share of hard knocks. Now they're looking to survive a brutal winter in a remote Montana line shack, collect their pay, and settle down for good. Then they cross paths with a hardworking Irish immigrant and his beautiful, spirited sister, who've been burned off their land. It's a fight Pike and Holt don't want, don't need, and don't dare turn their backs on—especially when one of the perpetrators might be one of Pike's old friends. Hunted like animals across the frozen countryside, Pike and Holt will risk everything—including their reputations, their dreams—and their lives.
The Learning Tree by
"A fine novel." THE BOSTON HERALD Photographer, writer, and composer, Gordon Parks has written a moving, true-to-life novel of growing up as a black man in this country in this century. Hailed by critics and readers alike, THE LEARNING TREE tells the extraordinary journey of a family as they struggle to understand the world around them and leave their mark a world that is better for their having been in it.
Legacy of a Lawman by
Five Star Westerns are standard print, first editions from top Western writers. The majority are brand new manuscripts from the best contemporary writers; a few are serials from magazine publications of many years ago, and -- occasionally -- we find an unpublished manuscript from some of the classic Western writers of a bygone era.Five Star consistently brings you the best quality writing the genre has to offer. Five Star Western authors have won numerous awards including the National Cowboy Hall of Fame's Western Heritage Award, Levi Strauss' Golden Saddleman Award, the Spur Award from Western Writers of America and many regional awards as well.The Western genre is not dead! The Western story is the American story. There's a morality and a certain nobility in Westerns, not consistently found in other genres. Westerns are much more than guns and horses. Strong characters and a strong sense of place and time characterize all our Five Star Western titles.Five Star publishes the best Westerns available today by the top writers of both the present and past. All are published in our durable library edition hardcover format. Actual covers may be different from those shown.
Legends of the West by
The Indian Territory, 1879--Two men are on a collision course. Bass Reeves, who wears a deputy marshal's star, has sworn to uphold the law. The other is Marion Michael Donovan, a ruthless killer who murdered his first man at age fourteen. In the Indian Territories to investigate a group of white men selling guns to the Indians, Reeves enlists the help of an Indian deputy, Walks as Bear. Donovan has taken over the town of Temptation and, using a stolen Gatling gun, plans to rob a train carrying a shipment of gold. After discovering that Donovan is responsible for the murder of some Texas Rangers, Reeves finds himself in a race against time to stop the killers and prevent another massacre.
Paradise Sky by
A rollicking novel about Nat Love, an African-American cowboy with a famous nickname: Deadwood Dick. Young Willie is on the run, having fled his small Texas farm when an infamous local landowner murdered his father. A man named Loving takes him in and trains him in the fine arts of shooting, riding, reading, and gardening. When Loving dies, Willie re-christens himself Nat Love in tribute to his mentor, and heads west. In Deadwood, South Dakota Territory, Nat becomes a Buffalo Soldier and is befriended by Wild Bill Hickok. After winning a famous shooting match, Nat's peerless marksmanship and charm earn him the nickname Deadwood Dick, as well as a beautiful woman. But the hellhounds are still on his trail, and they brutally attack Nat Love's love. Pursuing the men who have driven his wife mad, Nat heads south for a final, deadly showdown against those who would strip him of his home, his love, his freedom, and his life.
Watershed by
A rediscovered classic of politics, murder, espionage, for the first time in paperback On a windswept landscape somewhere north of Denver, Robert Hawks, a feisty and dangerously curious hydrologist, finds himself enmeshed in a fight over Native American treaty rights. What begins for Robert as a peaceful fishing interlude ends in murder and the disclosure of government secrets. Introduced by Sherman Alexie, who has taken a film option on the novel, this important novel is published in paperback for the first time.
