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 he movie " Black Rodeo"
(Cinerama '72) documents the first Black Cowboy Festival ever seen
in the East. The highlights of this 1971 celebration in New York
City's Harlem, was a flag-fluttering Black West Parade down seventh Avenue,
followed by a weekend of wild west cowboy action at the Black Rodeo and
Wild West Show, and other Black West heritage events. |
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 uhammad Ali, preparing for his
fight with Joe Frazier, joined the celebration. He still had stitches
in his hand, from a motorcycle accident a few days earlier, but he came
despite the pain. He was determined to help let America know about
"our brother cowboys". |
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| To
impact black western heroes |
"Coming Home To America's Roots" grew out of this first
effort. "Coming Home..." is an ongoing
national campaign to impact our nation's forgotten black western heritage
and its heores, on America's self image. It is still being produced
and promoted by Periscope Associates, a small, NYC public affairs firm.
As part of its 30- year effort to "grow" the
"Coming Home..." message of pride, purpose and participation, Periscope
Associates has produced and/or promoted a wide ranging series of black
western pride projects. These include TV documentaries and talk shows,
theme parades, book, press conferences, trail rides, festivals, readings,
dance recitals, art shows and museum exhibits.
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| Black
Generals call on nation |
In 1998, Major General Hugh G. Robinson (Ret) of Dallas,
enlisted a group of African American Generals who issued an historic "Generals' Call", asking authors, artists, teachers,
influentials, and everyone, to work with the "Coming Home..." campaign
to make America aware of its black western heritage and its forgotten settlers,
soldiers, scouts cowboys, lawmen and other African American heroes who
helped to setle the nation's frontiers.
In response to the "Generals' Call", a national
network of "influencers" have enlisted in the campaign to help fill General
Colin Powel has called "The hole in America's History". Over 100
African american Generals and other high ranking officers support this
common mission. As do the President of Howard University and other
historically black colleges and universities, and hundreds of other VIPs
and opinion makers.
Theses "Heritage Volunteers" will work to inspire
millions of people to become part of the "Coming Home..." campaign; to
participate in the parade; to log on to the campaign's website, AMERICASROOTS.com;
to read and write the books; produce the plays; paint the pictures, tell
the stories; sing the songs, and help in every way to make every American
aware.
The "Generals' Call" said, "...to heal society's
racial divisions, "each of us must know that building our nation was a multi-racial
victory." Towards that goal, all components of the "Coming Home..."
celebration are designed to promoted shared pride in a shared heritage
and to inspire a new sense of shared participation and purpose.
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| D.C.
"Coming Home..."
Parade |
Fulcrum of the current campaign will be a flag-fluttering
"Coming Home To America's Roots" Salute Parade, in Washington D.C.
This Parade will be led by a contingent of African American Generals Followed
by ROTC units from HBCUs, followed vy VIPs and hundreds of black and white
cowboys and cowgirls on prancing horses, under massed flags. These
will be meshed with colorful heritage floats, trick riders and ropers,
riding clubs, military and college marching bands, rodeo clowns and riders
of all colors, riding together in shared pride. This parade and its
components will be filmed for a TV special and a video for the home market.
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| Col.
Charles Young symbolic hero |
Colonel Charled Young is the campaign's symbolic
hero. In the late 1800's he was America's highest ranking African
American officer. He was the third African American graduate from
West Point. He was a decorated officer of the Buffalo Soldiers, as
well as a scholar, poet, composer, diplomat and civil rights leader.
He was to black Americans what Teddy Roosevelt was to white Americans at
that time. Over 100,000 mourners jammed the street of D.C., in 1923,
to pay their last respects, as his rideless horse, Dolly, his empty boots
backwards in her stirrups, followed his funeral cortege to Arlignton National
Cemetery.
Another arm of the "Coming Home..." campaign
is a national petition drive to win, for Colonel Young, a posthumous promotion
to General. It was generally understood, in his time, that had he
not been African American he would have won promotion to General before
WWI. But the country was not yet ready for its first black Army General. |
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| Now,
200+ Black U.S. Army Generals |
Instead, Colonel Young became the forefather of
todays 200+ African American Army Generals. The campaign for this
posthumous promotion to General is spearheaded by dozens of Generals who
are his heirs, and other "Heritage Volunteers", who seek to righten this
historic injustice. To find out how you can participate in this drive,
click on COL. YOUNG.
A commemorative book "The Legend" is also part
of the campaign. The book is about Col. Young, his protege General Benjamin
Davis, who became America's first black General, and the over 200 African
American men and women who have attained the rank of the General since
then. The plan is to make Col. Young one of America's preeminent
heroes
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| Help
give America a new vision
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The "Coming Home To America's Roots" campaing
has been working for over 30 years to let America know that its mythical
hero, its national symbol, the American cowboy, comes in many colors.
And, that thousands of African American settlers, soldiers, scouts and
other pioneers were heroic builders of our nation's western frontiers.
Now, in the new millenium, through, the Internet, it is possible to reach
everybody. please help us to connect our young to the internet
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To learn how you can help to give America a new vision of itself
in the new millenium., Please 
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lthough he'd never been
on a horse before, he climbed into the saddle in front of the Apollo Theater,
and trotted down 125th Street, surrounded by very happy cowboys.
n the rodeo arena he even mounted a
white Brahma Bull.