While it isn't as widely known, about a quarter of all cowboys in the Old West were actually black. As people sought opportunities westward, there was a need for able-bodied men, and many now-free black men opted to fill that need.

The most famous black cowboy in the West was Nat Love, otherwise known as "Deadwood Dick". In his memoirs, he wrote that being among the cowboys of the open plains was one of the few places where every man was given equal respect (in stark contrast to how black men, women and children were still treated in the bigger cities).