On Saturday, May 24 at 7 p.m., the small town of Boley, Oklahoma will swell with energy, music, and the rolling thunder of hooves hitting the dirt.
Welcome back to the Boley Rodeo, the oldest Black rodeo in the United States — and still one of the boldest celebrations of Black cowboy culture anywhere in the world.
For 122 years, this event has been more than just a show. It’s been a stand. A statement. A survival story.
Now, in an era when Hollywood is finally catching up with the truth — that Black cowboys were leaders in the West, not a side-story — Boley continues doing what it’s always done: preserving history and making it look damn good while doing it.
A Legacy Born in Resistance
Founded in 1903, Boley was one of more than 50 all-Black towns established across Oklahoma after Reconstruction. Only 13 remain today, and Boley is the largest of them, according to the Oklahoma Historical Society.
While others faded, Boley endured — thanks in part to its rodeo.
For Black families pushed out of land, history books, and mainstream rodeo circuits, towns like Boley were a cultural backbone. And the Boley Rodeo? That was the heartbeat.
It remains a space where Black heritage, horsemanship, and hard work are center stage.
“It’s just a piece of culture.”
Tiffany Guess, a music director, MC, and longtime Black rodeo producer, says the rodeo isn’t just about the competition — it’s about the culture.
“To me, Black rodeos incorporate the Western heritage that we’ve been a part of — and the music, the fashion show, the line dancing. It’s just a family fun event that everybody should experience.”
Guess now runs the Tiffany Guess Rodeo Calendar, picking up the mantle from Ms. Kathy O’Guin of Tulsa, who created “Kathy’s Roundup” years ago to keep people tapped into Black rodeos across the country.
She’s preserving a living tradition that drives local economies, connects generations, and offers a rare mirror where Black rural identity gets to fully exist.
Art, Trash Bins, and a Vision for Boley’s Future
This year’s rodeo isn’t just about bulls and broncos. It’s also about beauty and belief.
Thanks to the Project 2020 Foundation, visitors will experience a powerful new art installation: “Trash to Treasure: Rodeo Edition.”
Made from recycled garbage bins and led by artist Wes Luster, the project transforms discarded objects into bold symbols of Black cowboy life and rural resilience.
“Art is life,” Luster said. “Bringing this project to Boley means showing that we’re not gone. It’s hope. It’s opportunity.”
With support from the city of Shawnee and over a dozen local artists, Project 2020 is helping Boley reimagine what small-town Black excellence can look like in the 21st century — creative, collaborative, and community-led.
State Support (Finally) Catching Up
In recent years, Oklahoma’s Tourism Department has put promotional support behind the state’s Black rodeo circuit — and Boley was the first to receive a historic marker on Oklahoma’s new Civil Rights Trail.
I spoke with Lieutenant Gov. Matt Pinnell for an article in the Black Wall Street Times about how revitalizing places like Boley is part of a bigger push for cultural tourism.
“The best part of the job is going into communities and reminding them of something they should renovate or revitalize,” Pinnell said.
MC Tiffany Guess agrees.
“For the state tourism department to back it, I think it’s a plus. Because why wouldn’t they?”
Black Cowboys: The Real Western Story
If you think of a cowboy and picture Clint Eastwood, you’ve been misled.
According to historians, 1 in 4 cowboys was Black. And Oklahoma produced some of the best. From bareback riding to calf roping to bull wrestling, Black Oklahomans have been world champions — even if the history books didn’t want to remember them.
But Boley remembers. Black folks didn’t just survive the West — we shaped it.
When and where?
The Boley Rodeo takes place at the Boley Rodeo Arena in Boley, Oklahoma, Saturday, May 24, 2025 at 7:00 p.m. Tickets cost $20. Don’t miss the “Trash to Treasure: Rodeo Edition” art installation on-site
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