GOSSIP FROM THE GIRLFRIEND GATHERINGS

Learning from YOU to empower ME !

Women History Maker – Mollie Taylor Stevenson Jr.

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As we all know, March is National Women’s History Month and, in Houston, we are putting on our cowgirl boots to head on over to the Reliant Stadium for the Houston Livestock and Rodeo Show through the end of the month.     So, with both women history and rodeo in mind, I decided to share with you a history maker right here in my hometown – Houston.    This woman has made a mark in Women’s History and in African-American History as being one of three African-American women inducted into The National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame.   At the time of her induction, Mollie had the honor of her mother, Mollie Taylor Stevenson Sr. being inducted at the same time.    Before her mother’s death in 2003, Mollie and her mother were the only living African-American members of the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame.

(http://www.cowgirl.net/HallofFameHonorees/Stevenson,Mollie.Jr.html)

(http://www.cowgirl.net/HallofFameHonorees/Stevenson,Mollie.html)

Mollie is well-known in the Houston community as a world-famous cowgirl, historian, and rancher of her family-owned ranch which is one of the oldest African-American owned working ranches in the United States.   The Taylor-Stevenson Ranch has existed for 150 years and is still home to Mollie and some of her siblings.   In 1988, Mollie and her mother established The American Cowboy Museum to educate the young and the old about the contributions of “people of color” to the taming of the West.

Please read more about this female maverick at (http://www.cowboysofcolor.org/profile.php?ID=95)

and her trail-blazing family history at

(http://www.houstonchronicle.com/local/native-texan/article/Historic-ranch-lies-in-Houston-s-shadow-4638390.php)

and

(http://capitolwords.org/date/2002/03/14/E365-2_honoring-mollie-taylor-stevenson-sr-and-mollie-tay/)

I have not visited The Taylor-Stevenson Ranch yet but it is now on my day-trip list and I will “round-up” some of my girlfriends to join me.

In gathering information for this blog post, I read several inspiring information about other inductees in the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame.   They even have honored Sacagawea who assisted Lewis and Clark!     It is worth a visit so check it out at (http://www.cowgirl.net/AllHonorees.html).

On my next visit to the Dallas/Fort Worth area, I will certainly drop by for a visit!

It’s Rodeo Time! Yee-Hah!

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If you are anywhere near Houston, Texas you will know that the cowboys and cowgirls have blazed in from their trail ride and it is RODEO time!   There will be three weeks of rodeo contests, world-class concerts, barbecue cook offs and rides on a Texas-sized Ferris wheel at the Rodeo Carnival.  For eighty years, we Houstonians have enjoyed what has become one of the largest rodeos in the world – Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.  Visit http://www.hlsr.com and check it out.

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Another important rodeo venue during the same period is the Black Professional Cowboys and Cowgirls Association’s Heritage Day Rodeo which benefits high school students with scholarships to attend a four-year accredited college.    The BPCCA strive to present and preserve the image of the African-American cowboy and cowgirl who participated fully in settling the American West.   Please visit  http://www.bpcca.com to learn more about this organization.

Due to media depiction and partial teaching of American history in our schools, it is a little known fact that one-third of the American cowboys were African-American, one-third were Latin-American and one-third were Anglo-American.   However, on the trail they were all the same as they worked together to face life and death perils to drive the cattle across the West to market.   It was one of the first places in our history were racial barriers were willingly torn down.

This year was the first time that I attended the BPCCA rodeo even though this is their 14th year for this annual event.  It was really inspiring to see so many African-American families there to support the rodeo.   There were the familiar contests – steer wrestling, bull-riding, barrel racing – but there was one event that required unique bravery from the cowgirls.   This event is unique to African-American rodeos and is called “Steer Un-decorating”.   The cowgirls ride and chase a steer to remove the ribbon tied around it.   Watching those cowgirls made me feel very inadequate as a native Texan because I don’t even own a pair of cowgirl boots!

Even though the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo offers a “Black Heritage Day” as a part of their venue, I hope that more persons discover the Black Professional Cowboys and Cowgirls Association’s Heritage Day Rodeo and will consider attending next year during our rodeo season.   It is a great event.

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