Special Report: A look at the history of Black cowboys in Texas

CHILTON, Texas (KWTX) - Clarence holder remembers the time when he thought all cowboys or white. That changed the day he visited the Heart ‘O Texas Coliseum in Waco to see a friend at the rodeo.

“He rode his bull. The next man out was Myrtis Dightman, Black cowboy. After that, I mean, after that I wanted to be the cowboy,” Holder said.

Dightman, widely known as the “Jackie Robinson of rodeo,” was the first Black cowboy to compete in the National Rodeo Finals.

Inspired by what he saw, Holder began roping and competing, winning prized saddles, belt, buckles and money.

“It pays the bills. Yep, it helps pay the bills when you win,” He and his wife Sylvia, 60, explained.

And that money can be tens of thousands of dollars.

Holder was once a truck driver.

Now he runs his own business.

It’s called Clarence Holder’s Custom Cattle Work, where he provides services like working cattle, administering shots, dehorning, branding, and even delivering calves (sort of like a midwife.)

And he’s built quite a reputation.

Holder also assisted the McLennan County Sheriff’s Office with runaway cattle, hauling livestock, and housing animals during investigations.

While it’s work that he loves, it’s also an industry that can be dangerous holder.

He mentioned, “I was in the coliseum in the Senior Pro. I was roping one second, $900, my horse fell and broke my ankle.”

And in times like these, it’s comforting to know he can lean on his wife Sylvia to help with the business.

And she knows what she’s doing.

She said, she grew up without brothers in the house, so she learned how to do some heavy lifting.

The Holders are part of a close knit, Black cowboy family, where neighbors help each other.

Ronnie James, 65, and his brother Henry, 75, who managed their family’s farm in Chilton, share that same spirit of collaboration and camaraderie.

Ronnie said, “If cows are out, we call them up. Hey, our fence needs mending, we call them up. We help each other. We depend on each other for that help. It’s.. We’re a community, you know, we have to take care of each other. We have to do what we can to support each other. It can be a struggle. So, you know, in today’s environment we just have to help each other.”

WATCH: Texas rancher Ronnie James calls out to his cattle and they come right to him!

This family has roots that trace back to their grandfather, who is a sharecropper who began raising cattle.

Many, many years later, despite the challenges this family continues to push forward.

“Basically, I’m to boss, the finger pointer.”

Henry joked.

Whether it’s riding in the Ford truck, honking the horn, and calling in the cattle; or riding on horseback, for them, it’s a labor of love.

“It’s fulfilling. It’s hard. work, but it’s just fulfilling, and it just gives, you know, something that you can say is your own,” Ronnie said.

Keeping that piece of heirloom stock, has not always been easy.

The James’ have 10 head now.

The herd was culled back after years of severe drought, no grass, and high-priced feed.

This is the side of cowboying you don’t see in mainstream media or some music now-a-days.

With the release of superstar, Beyonce’s Cowboy Carter album, not to mention the ever-popular line-dancing song, “Boots on the ground,” where people giddy up on the dance floor and pop those hand fans, it’s bringing attention to the black face of cowboy culture, the but life, the real life on the range is not always so glamorous.

Ronnie maintained, “It’s not just a fad, it’s a lifestyle.”

“I mean, anybody can dress up in boots and jeans and hat, and whatever. That does not necessarily make you a cowboy. It’s putting boots on the ground. Doing the work and everything, and that’s what helps you or makes you a cowboy,” said Henry.

For these black Cowboys and cowgirl, their work is a source of pride. It honors the struggles and sacrifices of their ancestors, which make preservation all the more important.

That’s why they declared, they will keep this tradition going to honor the sacrifices of their ancestors and to maintain a space for future generations together.

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