The Long Ride Home: The Black Cowboy Experience in America by Photographer and Author Ron Tarver

From the concrete jungles of the Northeast to the endless skies of the great West, and all that lays in between, the cowboy spirit thrives. The Long Ride Home comprises of photos exploring the lives of Black cowboys – men, women, and children. These are the multifaceted narratives intentionally forgotten in the great American myth of the West. The portraits reaffirm this thriving culture of Black owned ranches, rodeo operations, parades, inner-city cowboys, retired cowhands and young rodeo clowns. Few people are aware of the historical role that Black cowboys have played in the West, while still others question their authenticity.

Ron Tarver currently serves as Associate Professor of Art specializing in photography at Swarthmore College. Prior to this Ron was a staff photojournalist at The Philadelphia Inquirer for 32 years where he shared the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for his work on a series documenting school violence in the Philadelphia public school system. During his time at the Inquirer he was nominated for three Pulitzers and honored with multiple awards. Ron’s work has been exhibited nationally and internationally in over 30 solo and 50 group exhibitions and is included in many private, corporate, and museum collections, including the Philadelphia Museum of Art, State Museum of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg, and Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington DC. 

Program Info:

Thursday, March 27 | 6:00 – 7:30 p.m.
FREE for Museum Members (Members, log-in first to reserve tickets)
FREE with Museum Admission
$10 for just the program