#bass reeves

[mimi-0007]

November 14,1906.

[diioonysus]

black cowboys

john ware (1845-1905)

bass reeves (1838-1910)

bose ikard (1843-1929)

nat love (1854-1921)

bill pickett (1870-1932)

mary fields (1832-1914)

[yosb]

my costume for lawmen: bass reeves <3 i haven't had the chance to properly watch this series for my scenes yet!

[kemetic-dreams]

BASS REEVES. 1838-1910. U.S. Deputy Marshall.

Reeves was born into slavery then had a fight with his slave owner and ran and lived with the Cherokee and Creek people learning many native languages.

He became a free man under the 13th Amendment and later enlisted in Law Enforcement. He became the first African U.S. Deputy Marshall west of the Mississippi with full authority over the states of Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas.

During his 32 years in office he personally went on to arrest over 3,000 dangerous criminals, shooting 14 in the process of arrest.

He was and STILL is the most prolific Law Enforcement Officer ever in the U.S.A.

He carried a Winchester Rifle and two Cal. 45 Colts and rode a snow white horse. Quite a few experts believe that he was the inspiration for ' The Lone Ranger' stories.

[blackinperiodfilms]

Lawmen: Bass Reeves | Official Trailer | Paramount+

From Executive Producers Taylor Sheridan and David Oyelowo comes the untold story of the most legendary lawman in the Old West: Bass Reeves. Lawmen: Bass Reeves, follows the journey of Reeves (Oyelowo) and his rise from enslavement to law enforcement as the first Black U.S. Marshal west of the Mississippi. Despite arresting over 3,000 outlaws during the course of his career, the weight of the badge was heavy, and he wrestled with its moral and spiritual cost to his beloved family.

Stream the series premiere of Lawmen: Bass Reeves on November 5, exclusively on Paramount+.

[thechanelmuse]

The Old West - 1 in 4 cowboys were Black in the 1800s. 

White men referred to themselves as cattlemen, whereas Black men (and Black women) solely were called cowboys, which was a derogatory word. Hence “boy” instead of “man,” and other negative things they grouped with it for the formerly enslaved in the United States.

A cattleman is a person who owns cattle while a cowboy is a person who herds and tends to the damn cattle. The epitome of a hard worker...which is why that shit was bulldozed and scooped up for their initial signature imagery in Hollywood.

Then Black Americans just vibing out, unknowingly made yet another new style of music later referred to as country music, which blended Negro spirituals, the blues and jazz paired with the banjo, and white men decided to merge the two as their own: cowboys + country music. That’s another topic.

Our cowboy/cowboy tradition is solidified in Black American culture all across the country where we exist, regardless if we’re finally heavily depicted as such in pop culture or not. That ain’t never letting up.

Some in the photoset ranging from the late-1800s to the early 1900s: Bill Pickett, Stagecoach Mary, Jesse Stahl, Bass Reeves, Nat Love, Isom Dart, James Beckwourth

[merlinaknight]

@impossiblegothpersonfarm @fauxcongenialite @virtualbunny @4gh0st @elemiller @semteslagirl @officialderickdrakesite I just saw this still and I can't breathe. 😍❤️‍🔥

[bootyandgeekeries]

There is no American history without afro people.

Western movies never depicted that a quarter of all cowboys were believed to be of afro descendant communities.

They never told that many enslaved african men were already familiar with cattle herding before coming to America.

NB: Bass Reeves was no cowboy. He was BADASS tho

[dpinodesigns]

Bass Reeves: Legend of the Law

[jurakan]

I'm out for Lent so here's a previously scheduled Fun Fact Friday post!

We’re wrapping up Black History Month, so Today You Learned about Bass Reeves (who, contrary to folk belief probably did not inspire the Lone Ranger, but is still a really cool dude).

Bass Reeves was the first black deputy US Marshal west of the Mississippi and was widely known as a complete badass. He made over THREE THOUSAND arrests. Reeves was born in slavery, but escaped during the American Civil War and hung out in Indian Territory until he was freed by the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865.

Now in 1875 when a US Marshal was set over the area, said Marshal decided that Reeves, as a guy who knew how to handle himself, was familiar with the area, and knew more than one Native American language, was the perfect guy to be in law enforcement.

Look, guys, this man was a Beast. A skilled marksman, detective, and polyglot, who like said brought in thousands of criminals. And he’s only killed fourteen. Considering how prolific of a lawman he was, it’s impressive how rarely he killed, in my opinion. Reeves even one time arrested his son for murder, which clearly disturbed him but he knew his duty.

[Said son was convicted, did his time, and apparently lived the straight and narrow afterward, in case you were curious.]

At one point Bass Reeves was tried for murder, but he claimed he was cleaning his gun and it went off. Reeves was acquitted.

He eventually retired in the early 1900’s and died shortly afterward. One wonders if the stress of everything had a negative effect on his health.

The man’s been portrayed in several different pieces of fiction–Timeless features him in an episode, as does Legends of Tomorrow, and he’s one of the characters in the Netflix original film The Harder They Fall (pictured below).

Also, he has a Badass of the Week article.

[mimi-0007]

I spent all black history month under the weather. But as I was getting better. I took a deep dive into Bass Reeves. It's was a ride. A great ride for a Black man in the 1800s and early 1900s. His highs and lows in being a black US Marshal. He had 11 children. Having to arrest 2 I know was hard. One killed their own mother. His trial that he was acquitted for. So please take time to read each article. I'm from Oklahoma of course didn't know this. Catch the paramount plus series. I enjoyed it. All my articles from my home state of Oklahoma. Thank you Bass Reeves.

[aiiaiiiyo]

[toddwaters]

Please consider donating to a conservative movie maker.

[killyspinacoladas]

Idc if it ends up sucking, I'm very excited about that Bass Reeves show coming out

[lightdancer1]

Another thing the movies don't tell you is just who outlaws actually were and why people like Bass Reeves were sent to hunt them:

And that matters very much for the career of Mr. Reeves. Outlaws were, in the main, various bitterenders of the old Confederate Armies that didn't see that just because Lee and Joe Johnston and Kirby Smith quit meant they had to. So Bass Reeves, once enslaved, was a Black man who hunted down and caught some of the last traces of the old insurgency. By any standard this was the work of someone to whom the word hero isn't an exaggeration. Also he's the real historical inspiration for the Lone Ranger.