Oklahoma City event to honor historical contributions of Black cowboys

The National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum is hosting the 2nd Annual National Black Cowboy Awards and Gala on Saturday.

Ahead of the event, the Coca-Cola Southwest Beverages Porch visited the museum to learn more from the organizers.

The gala will honor legendary Black cowboys, bull riders, and the Pony Express, as well as the impact of Black cowboys here in Oklahoma.

One of those local cowboys, world champion bull rider and Spencer native Danell Tipton, says the influence of the Black rodeo is indescribable.

"This event is just amazing, there's not even enough words to describe this," Tipton said. "It's not just something that's unique, but it's also blending history."

Tipton will be one of the hosts for the event and will be joined by local filmmaker James "VideoHero" Ridley.

Ridley said the 2024 event sold out, and they are expecting a similar result this weekend.

"We have a lot more famous people coming, last year we were sold out, [with] over 1500 in attendance this year," Ridley said. "We capped it off at 1,000, but they will all be there, it's going to be a star-studded event."