Kaya 959 Entertainment Reporter
Since Lemonade, the creative outputs by Beyoncé have included a rich storytelling of American Black culture.
The image of a cowboy in mainstream media is heavily influenced by Hollywood Westerns.
The latest Ivy Park Rodeo collection changes this by featuring Emmy Award winning actor, Glynn Turman, who shares his deep love and pride for being a real life American Black cowboy.
Glynn who was inducted into the Western Heritage Multi-Cultural Museum’s Hall of Fame in Fort Worth Texas says that for as long as he can remember he had a fascination with horses.
The official Ivy Park website describes Glynn as “an accomplished horsemen and rodeo champion” who together with his wife Jo-Ann, “co-found and direct a free western-style summer camp, Camp Gid D Up, for inner-city and at-risk youth since 1992.”
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His love for horses was passed on to his grandchildren, one of whom is also featured on the Ivy Park website, Melinda Siegel.
She describes how she attended rodeos in Los Angeles as far back as she can remember.
At the age of 12-years-old she became more interested in learning how to become a cowgirl in a sport dominated by males.
“My grandfather, Glynn Turman, influenced me to ride horses at a very young age.”
Melinda believes that passing on the legacy of the American Black cowboy is very important because it offered her many life lessons in humility and respect.
In high school her senior project was focused on the history of Black cowboys because it was a subject that was never learned at school.
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With the help of Beyoncé and other celebrities like chef and writer, Stephen Satterfield, the image of a cowboy is made all inclusive.
Stephen played a role in sharing the history by dedicating an entire episode to American Black cowboys in his Netflix series called High on the Hog.
The Ivy Park Rodeo collection is much anticipated by fans who have voiced their enthusiasm for the collection on social media.
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The collection is set for release later this month.
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