![]() Of the roughly 30 horses housed in several stables along Fletcher Street, his club owns nine. He moved to Fletcher Street in 2004 to provide free, after-school equestrian activities for local youth. It was founded by Ellis Ferrell, 82, who began riding horses on the streets of Philadelphia as a boy in the late 1940s. One of the more prominent clubs is the Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club. He started riding nearly a decade ago after he followed a group of cowboys on horseback to the stables. One real-life rider, Jamil Prattis, plays Cole’s mentor in the movie and is a fixture on Fletcher Street. Idris Elba as Harp and Caleb McLaughlin as his son Cole in Netflix's "Concrete Cowboy." Aaron Ricketts/Netflix Art imitates life on Fletcher Streetįletcher Street is populated by stables and Black equestrians who’ve cared for horses and provided lessons to neighborhood children for a century. ![]() It’s a tradition that lives on today in many inner cities across the US, where teens build character – and stay out of trouble – by learning horsemanship. There’s a long but little-known history of Black cowboys in the American West. It’s based on a novel, “Ghetto Cowboy” by Gregory Neri, and inspired by the Fletcher Street riders – a real-life group that stables and rides horses in the neighborhood. The community embraces the youth and gives him positive role models and a sense of purpose. ![]() The movie follows the story of a troubled teen sent by his mother to spend a summer with his estranged father, played by Elba, and his fellow horsemen in Philadelphia. And when the motorcars came, the Black folk kept the horses as part of the fabric of their communities.” “These communities had these beautiful animals as part of their lifeblood. “It’s a real community that exists right now and has been part of Philadelphia … and other urban cities around America for over 100 years,” Elba said on the “Today” show earlier this month. But they’re also the reality in parts of north Philly, where the movie was filmed and a subculture of urban Black cowboys has existed for more than a century. These are scenes from “ Concrete Cowboy,” a new Netflix movie starring Idris Elba and Caleb McLaughlin. Men and women ride cantering horses down a city street as cars pass by. Teens pile hay and clean up manure near brick row houses. Walter Thompson-Hernández paints a unique and unexpected portrait of this city, pushing back against stereotypes to reveal an urban community in all its complexity, tragedy, and triumph.In Philadelphia, a Black cowboy in a white undershirt and a gold chain wrangles a wayward horse. The Compton Cowboys is a story about trauma and transformation, race and identity, compassion, and ultimately, belonging. The Cowboys include Randy, Mayisha's nephew, faced with the daunting task of remaking the Cowboys for a new generation Anthony, former drug dealer and inmate, now a family man and mentor, Keiara, a single mother pursuing her dream of winning a national rodeo championship, and a tight clan of twentysomethings-Kenneth, Keenan, Charles, and Tre-for whom horses bring the freedom, protection, and status that often elude the young black men of Compton. From Mayisha's youth organization came the Cowboys of today: black men and women from Compton for whom the ranch and the horses provide camaraderie, respite from violence, healing from trauma, and recovery from incarceration. Posse to provide local youth with a safe alternative to the streets, one that connected them with the rich legacy of black cowboys in American culture. But in 1988 Mayisha Akbar founded The Compton Jr. To most people, Compton is known only as the home of rap greats NWA and Kendrick Lamar, hyped in the media for its seemingly intractable gang violence. They are the Compton Cowboys, their small ranch one of the very last in a formerly semirural area of the city that has been home to African-American horse riders for decades. ![]() In Compton, California, ten black riders on horseback cut an unusual profile, their cowboy hats tilted against the hot Los Angeles sun.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |