Black Pioneers: Images of the Black Experience in the North American Frontier by John W. Ravage

John Ravage has assembled a phenomenal archive of nearly 200 never-before-seen photographs that depict the full range of African-American experience in the West. Beginning with the earliest available photographs from the mid-1800s, the collection of images in Black Pioneers reconstructs our understanding of the history and contributions of African-Americans to our westward expansion. Black Pioneers shows that blacks did not play a limited role in the settlement of the West; instead, their work and experiences as soldiers, doctors, ranchers, deputies, nannies, midwives, politicians, cowboys, and homesteaders were crucial to the communities in which they lived.

5:31 PM