Dancing Delta Cowboys
The “cowboy” identity retains a strong presence in many contemporary black communities, despite a whitewashed depiction of American cowboy history. This ongoing documentary project in the Mississippi Delta sheds light on an overlooked African American subculture — one that resists both historical and current stereotypes.
While the traditional image of a cowboy involves horses and cattle at the ranch, these riders march to the beat of a different drum.
For decades, Delta cowboys and cowgirls have been traveling to various night clubs in the region to the dance the night away in their boots and hats. The DJs play Zydeco and Southern Soul classics that get the whole crowd moving.
The project aims to press against my own old archetypes — who could and could not be a cowboy, and what it means to be black in Mississippi — while uplifting the voices of my subjects.