Commissioned by ESPN, this photo essay follows the quiet dignity and fierce grace of the Black cowboys and cowgirls of the Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo—a legacy often written out of the American story. Through portraiture and atmospheric detail, the series reveals a living tradition where culture, identity, and ancestry braid together in dust, leather, denim, and discipline.

The work moves beyond spectacle to explore memory in motion: a community reclaiming its rightful place in the mythology of the West.

Editorial
Digital