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The Compton Cowboys

The New Generation of Cowboys in America's Urban Heartland

ebook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available

The Compton Cowboys is the true story of a group of people continuing a proud, centuries-old tradition in one of America’s most notorious cities.
 
In Compton, California, ten black riders on horseback cut an unusual profile, their cowboy hats tilted against the hot Los Angeles sun. 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. 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. But in 1988 Mayisha Akbar founded The Compton Jr. 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. 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.
 
The Compton Cowboys is a story about trauma and transformation, race and identity, compassion, and ultimately, belonging. New York Times reporter 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.
 
“A profound and moving account of what it means to be black in America that is awe inspiring in its truth-telling and limitless in its empathy. Here is an American epic of black survival and creativity, of terrible misfortune and everyday resilience, of grace, redemption and, yes, cowboys.” —Pulitzer Prize–winning author Junot Díaz

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    • Kirkus

      February 15, 2020
      A year in the lives of 10 inner-city men fighting to keep black cowboy culture alive and well even as their personal lives are in disarray. By the time New York Times reporter Thompson-Hernández caught up with them, the Los Angeles-based Compton Cowboys seemed to be experiencing a wishful and elegiac pall. The equine outpost, which had always served as refuge and home away from home throughout the crew's often tumultuous and traumatized childhoods, was in dire straits. Mayisha Akbar, the indomitable force of nature who founded the Compton Junior Posse in 1988, was heading toward retirement, and the big-money donors that had kept the expensive operation afloat were slowly disappearing. The mantle of ranch leadership was about to shift to Randy, Mayisha's nephew. While Randy understood what was required to allow the group to blaze a new trail into the future, the stakes were high: keeping alive the legacy and heritage of men like Nat Love and Bill Pickett, real-life black cowboys who, despite Hollywood's whitewashing of history, were integral in establishing what became known as the Wild West. However, regardless of their determination to pass down the black cowboy tradition to the next generation of new riders, the CJP members had to cope with the daily realities of life on the gang-scarred streets of Compton. In his intimate yet sober-eyed narrative, Thompson-Hernández never shies away from those realities. All of the Compton Cowboys, to some degree, have struggled with the PTSD associated with the neighborhood's dangerous landscape. Across the board, there continues to be unresolved anger and alcoholism, self-doubt and trepidation. Describing Mayisha's retirement party, the author writes, "the future of the ranch was uncertain and everyone in attendance looked at the cowboys for answers that they did not have." The author's fondness and respect for the CJP crew is consistently patent (only occasionally overly so), and he tells their story straight, no matter how much it hurts. A gritty and somber chronicle of an often overlooked community.

      COPYRIGHT(2020) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

    • Booklist

      March 1, 2020
      New York Times writer Thompson-Hernandez chronicles the fading legacy of the Black cowboys of Compton, California, in thoughtful and compassionate style. In 1988, real estate agent Mayisha Akbar founded Richland Farms, the site of one of the first Black cowboy ranches in the U.S., in order to keep young kids off the streets and out of gangs by providing opportunities to care for and ride horses. Three decades later, Akbar is retiring, and those boys are now men. Akbar's nephew Randy is poised to take over the ranch, but funds have run dry, and, while people still love seeing the Compton Cowboys, children no longer seem interested in joining themselves. While the ranch has been a saving grace for the 10 men still riding, they've also experienced violence and pain at the hands of the neighborhood and suffer consequences like PTSD and alcoholism. Thompson-Hernandez never shies away from the cowboys' trauma, and his respect for them is clear. This is an endearing tribute to them, Akbar, and the benefits of equine therapy.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)

    • Library Journal

      November 1, 2019

      A fellow with Surfing, a multimedia division of the New York Times investigating underrepresented communities worldwide, Thompson-Hernandez wrote a piece on the Compton Cowboys that was among the paper's most popular stories in 2018. These urban equestrians, black men and women continuing the long-standing tradition of black cowboys in the midst of a troubled city, got their start when Mayisha Akbar founded the Compton Jr. Posse in 1988 to afford local youth a place of camaraderie, healing, and safety. Thompson-Hernandez shows how the next generation is moving forward while fighting to keep their ranch open. With a 100,000-copy first printing and optioned for film.

      Copyright 2019 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

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