Jordan Peele’s ‘High Horse’ documentary dives into the history and culture of the Black cowboy

The history of cowboys and the Wild West is much more complex than what pop culture has, in many ways, mythologized for decades. Part of that complexity is who actually were cowboys.

Take, for example, the long and rich tradition of Black cowboys, particularly here in Texas.

A new three-part documentary from filmmaker Jordan Peele’s Monkeypaw Productions is trying to bring that history to a wider audience. “High Horse: The Black Cowboy” premieres Thursday, Nov. 20, on Peacock.

Jason Perez, co-executive producer and director of the documentary, joined Texas Standard for a discussion. Listen to the interview above or read the transcript below.

This transcript has been edited lightly for clarity:

Texas Standard: The image many people have of what a cowboy looks like is largely white and male has been informed, as I said, in many ways by popular culture. Could you talk just a little bit about why you and your fellow executive producer Jordan Peele wanted to push back against that narrative?

Jason Perez: Thank you. So it’s funny because in the series, you’ll see Jordan during his interview, he talks about being originally from New York – where I’m from as well – and not seeing images of Black cowboys, not only in his environment, but on television, there weren’t any images of cowboys, not in history books.

So he wanted to take that and kind of dismantle that and show America that the Black cowboy is actually the original cowboy. And also the Black cowboy is a part of America and the American fabric.

So it spawned from there, and then Monkeypaw, the executive producers over there, they took this seed and started to develop it. This, I guess journey, was new for them, very new for them, and new for everyone else who joined the team because a lot of us Black filmmakers did not know to the extent of the Black cowboys’ existence and what our history was in America.

So yeah, that’s how it started.

Well, and this goes beyond the cowboy in things like herding and ranch work, is that right?

Yes, yes. Obviously that is where the Black cowboys’ experience began, but we also talked about country music and how, you know, Black people have always been a part of country music.

We also talk about rodeo, the rodeo space, and how a lot of Black cowboys developed these competitions based on what we were actually doing on the farm, like herding and having to capture cows that escaped, things like that. And we also talk about farming.

I wanna touch on something else, which is the cowboy culture and country music, which as you delve into is also a a product of Black culture. And it reminds me of some of the debates we saw last year after Beyoncé’s “Cowboy Carter” became a cultural flashpoint.

Can you talk a little bit about how that debate fits into this larger point about the history of the Black cowboy?

Yes, and that’s one of the touchy debates that we get into.

But, you know, I think if you look at Beyoncé and how she was shunned during the CMAs, like many other Black country artists, you know, I guess Beyoncé was looked at that she didn’t actually belong in that category and also in the culture.

This is a woman who’s actually from Texas, from Houston. And so she has been in this country space, this cowboy space. She was born into it. Now whether she chooses to do an album or not is on her. But when she was shunned at the CMAs prior to making her album, I believe that that was the fuel for making it and also for representing what her people have done for decades in this country.

So she’s kind of like dismantling the idea of erasure in Black people in country music and showing that we have the right to be there, we have a right to be recognized in that category because we are a part of it.

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Well, speaking of Beyoncé, viewers will get to hear from her mother, Tina Knowles. Their family, as you mentioned, is from the Houston area, and it’s no secret – I mean, Black cowboy culture is alive and well there with the trail riders and the rodeo and that sort of thing.

But you also have some other Texas interviewees, including rapper Bun B. Can you tell us about how you sought out the guests you feature?

Yes, and Bun B was amazing. And it was important to us, while we were making this series, that we make sure that the people who we chose to be on camera were authentic and could speak to the subject matter at hand and can contribute their own experience to the series. And we have people like Miss Tina Knowles, Bun B, we have Mr. Glynn Turman.

But these people live the cowboy culture every day. This is not just a one-off, you know, they’re just doing it for entertainment. When the cameras go down, when the lights are off and the mics turn off as well, they are ranching, they are in it, they are promoting it, they are living it, they’re part of the rodeo. Bun B is a big part of the Houston rodeo.

So, you know, these people live and breathe cowboy culture every day. They were born in it, they’ve learned how to do it, and some people make a living off of it.

Well, a lot of people, like you said, still live in this today, but I wonder about your artistic vision for the documentary and how you envisioned bringing the history to life, sort of the historical stuff. How did you approach that?

This experience in filmmaking was a huge team effort. Many of us were out on the road and filming and were able to capture these images of our Black cowboys and then we brought it home and have an amazing post team to bring it all together.

But an integral part of it was being able to research and find archival footage, as well as photos to see Black cowboys standing on ranches in the late 1800s and the early 1900s. We knew that we had to share that with other people who may not know about the Black cowboy experience in America.

So you’ll see in the series we use a lot of archival footage and photos and we also have people speaking to the the early Black cowboy experience in America.

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Is there a particular change you’re hoping this documentary inspires, and what would that look like?

You know, knowing your history is empowering. And we look at the children and the future of America, and we look at our peers; we look at even some of our elders who may not know that the Black cowboy is the original cowboy. And we’re hoping that this can inspire people to dig a little deeper, to spread the word about the Black cowboy in America.

We’re hoping that it inspires other filmmakers to dig deeper – Black filmmakers – to dig deeper into our history and to use this medium as a platform to be able to share with many people. You know, it doesn’t matter if you’re an artist, a filmmaker or not, but this is a part of America. This story is a part of the American fabric and it should be told.

I wonder if some of that is in the name of the documentary, too: “High Horse.” It’s proud and it’s unapologetic, and I assume that was purposeful.

Yes, yes. You know, Black people can be very unapologetic in things that we do in culture and the arts.

But, you know, we deserve to be on the high horse. We deserve to be up there. We deserve to be a part of the American story. We are a part of it, and we deserve for that to be told.

“High horse: The Black Cowboy” is just a representation of the Black people and the Black cowboys in America that choose to do what they do in the culture unapologetically.

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