RORY DOYLE – DELTA HILL RIDERS
2018-07-09Delta Hill Riders shares the story of African-American cowboy culture in the rural Mississippi Delta. Doyle’s ongoing personal project challenges the Hollywood portrayal of the American cowboy. The work highlights the black cowboys and cowgirls in the Delta as a proud group existing beyond the movie image of the American West.
The project began in early 2017 when Doyle attended a rodeo celebrating black cowboy heritage in the region. Over the past year, he’s documented this band of horse riders in a place not typically known for its cowboys.
A recent article from Smithsonian estimated that one in four cowboys were African-American following the Civil War — yet this population was drastically underrepresented in popular accounts. Delta Hill Riders sheds light on a prominent sub-culture historically overlooked, even in the Mississippi Delta.
Opposite – Big Mike teaches kids to ride horses in rural Humphreys County, Miss., March 2018.
Exhibition runs through to August 13th, 2018
The Half King Photography Series
505 West 23rd Street
New York
10011 NY
