Pop culture icons in the Black community have been known to influence trends through music, film and fashion by trail blazing and paying homage to their black roots for many years.
Beyoncé’s sexy Renaissance Album debut cover in a diamond encrusted wide brim hat, fringe silver boots and jeweled bodysuit was an iconic reference to the cowboy trend but it was Lil Nas’s Old Town Road that had us all inspired to grab our fringe jackets and tall leather boots ready to hit the rodeo!
The Cowboy movement emerged within the Black community during the American Civil War where one in four cowboys were black.
In the beginning, it was a practical solution to protect African Americans from racial discrimination and profiling from their Caucasian peers although,
black cowboys were still typically assigned to handle horses with poor temperaments and wild behavior and segregated from their counterparts in social settings.
While the representation and visibility of this rich historical piece of black culture has now evolved into a political fashion statement for our generation, its symbolism runs much deeper within the black community.
The role of storytelling in film through shows like ‘The Harder They Fall’ which stars an all- black cast on Netflix has also been key in reinvigorating conversations on racial lines and the impact of the cow boy movement in black America by highlighting modern black identities as diverse and complex.
The resurgence of this trend inspired by western culture and style has spread all over the world particularly in Black America. Colloquially referred to as the ‘Yee-haw Agenda’, the cowboy trend is an ‘aesthetic’ at face value but it is also a reclamation of black history that is channeled and celebrated through personal style and self-expression.
Beyond film, street style culture has been another source of inspiration following the cowboy trend.
Seen as a symbol of freedom, rebellion and self- confidence, influencers and fashion lovers have taken up the trend and personalized it to reflect their own style and self-expression beyond gender and race. In Botswana, the heavy metal subculture is reminiscent of the cow boy movement in ideology and style presentation. Botswana cowboys are viewed as role models in their society for their comradery, sense of social responsibility and awareness as protectors of the community.
The cowboy spirit at its core is the depiction of independence, resilience, substance, and rebellion which are all attributes that envisage the struggle and strength that exist for Africans fighting to carve out their own paths and be successful in spite of the injustice and erasure they face.
Although trends come and go, the ethos embedded in the cowboy movement and its historical connection to the black community sets it apart as timeliness and relevant more so, through fashion and style.
