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Herb Jeffries, known as the "Bronze
Buckaroo" is one of the few African-American cowboy actors. Born
and raised in an integrated neighborhood in Detroit, Jeffries
was touring with a band through the American south in the 1930s
when he noticed segregated theaters were showing films featuring
white cowboy actors.
Jeffries then decided that there should be black cowboy films
since there had been black cowboys in the west. Jeffries said:
"The cowboy never discriminated. He wanted to know if you could
ride and do the work. He didn't give a damn what color you were.
We could use more of that cowboy code today."
It took Jeffries a year to
raise the money to start his film project, but eventually he
succeeded. The tall, handsome, and athletic Jeffries not only
starred as Bob Blake, but also cast the films, wrote most of
their songs, and did all of his own riding and stunts. "I was a
fearless character. Besides, we couldn't afford a double, " said
Jeffries.
When Harlem on the Prairie
opened in 1936, Jeffries was breaking ground. African Americans
had certainly been portrayed in film before, but Jeffries was
the first to portray an African-American hero.
Jeffries gave up his film
career to perform with the Duke Ellington band during WWII and
with the desegregation of theaters in the 1950s, the era of the
black cowboy waned.
http://hoover.archives.gov/exhibits/HollywoodCowboys/leading
men/HerbJeffries.html |
