The Compton Cowboys

From left: Compton Cowboys Randall Hook, Carlton Hook, Layton Charles Bereal, Anthony Harris, and Roy Keenan Malik Abercrombia.

THE LONGRIDERS

THE COMPTON COWBOYS

Positive Posse

photographed by RICARDO NELSON at THEIR STABLE in COMPTON

THE COMPTON COWBOYS ride with the banner “Streets raised us. Horses saved us.” In a city still best known for gangsta rap, these cowboys are lifelong friends who came together on horseback with a mission: to counter racial stereotypes and escape gang violence. The group evolved from the Compton Junior Posse, an equestrian program founded in 1988 in the city’s semirural Richland Farms neighborhood to o er an alternative to gang culture and recognize the Black cowboys who helped open the West after the Civil War. With the hashtag #BlackEquestriansMatter, the Compton Cowboys also advocate for breaking into the mostly white rodeo circuit. Word is apparently getting around: one young female member had a cameo on horseback in Beyonce’s performance of “Be Alive” at the 2022 Academy Awards. —S.A.