HERE COMES COWBOY LARRY, STEPPING OUT IN FAITH, is the true-life story of Larry Callies who, as a young boy, had a dream of becoming a real-life cowboy. As he grew into adulthood, his journey took him down many steps of faith that he did not realize he had been walking for most of his life. His first steps of faith came in his fifth-grade class facing student ridicule and unjust criticism from his teacher; others came as he worked on a ranch and competed in his first rodeo bull ride; and a few other steps were made as he stood before a crowd for the first-time singing country western music in a GONG SHOW-type competition. These early steps of faith encouraged him to make even bolder ones as he pursued a singing career and began to realize his dream of becoming a real-life cowboy. Along life's trail, Larry eventually met the author and finisher of his faith. This meeting will prove very timely as Larry faces many hardships and challenges in becoming a real-life cowboy, but also, as a Black cowboy!
Typically former slaves or born into the families of former slaves, many black men had skills in cattle handling and headed West at the end of the Civil War. (2) Black men, typically former slaves, children of slaves, or working in plantations, and farms would have been exposed to kitchen work and stables as well. As early as 1770, regulations in Louisiana required two slaves to manage 100 head of cattle. (1) In Antebellum Texas, white ranchers referred to white workers as cow hands, with Black people in the same position referred to with the pejorative cow boy. (3)Prior to the abolition of slavery, the cattle trade was considered to offer a high degree of relative freedom to slaves, who would be issued guns, often left unaccompanied on horseback for long stretches, and trusted to return.(4) (Courtesy: BLACK COWBOYS. Wikipedia (article).
