The Black Land - Rituals and Rejoicing in African American Rodeo Culture
About
The Black Land explores Black equestrianism as a bridge between ancestral land knowledge and contemporary identity, reframing the American West as a site of memory, sovereignty, and celebration.
The Black Land envisions a pyramiding structure, layering the historical phases from Black captivity to contemporary Black equestrianism. Within this conceptual framework lies a sacred and congenital agricultural virtue, where Oklahoma’s Black rodeo culture becomes both symbol and setting for survival, resurgence, and celebration. Much like the rodeo itself, The Black Land connects the past and present, situating the American West as a living archive and bringing Black cattlemen and cowboys alike to center stage.
Lender
Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center
Space Requirements
178 linear feet, 2,136 square feet
