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'Delta Hill Riders': African-American cowboy culture in the Mississippi Delta

Rory Doyle’s ongoing personal project shares the story of African-American cowboy culture in the rural Mississippi Delta, challenging the Hollywood portrayal of the American cowboy. The work highlights the black cowboys and cowgirls in the Delta as a proud group existing beyond the movie image of the American West.

The project began in early 2017 when Doyle attended a rodeo celebrating black cowboy heritage in the region. Over the past year, he’s documented this band of horse riders in a place not typically known for its cowboys.

A recent article from Smithsonian magazine estimated that one in four cowboys was African-American following the Civil War, yet this population was drastically underrepresented in popular accounts. “Delta Hill Riders” sheds light on a prominent subculture historically overlooked, even in the Mississippi Delta.

Born in 1983, Maine native Doyle is currently based in Cleveland, Miss., the heart of the Delta. Doyle’s editorial work highlights populations in the region that are often unnoticed or underserved. Along with his series about African-American Delta cowboys, he has documented the growing Latino population in an area most known for its black and white history. Doyle’s publication list includes the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Atlantic, ESPN’s “The Undefeated,” Getty Images, Vox Media and the Financial Times. He also provides marketing imagery for Delta State University.

Doyle has twice assisted Ron Haviv, photographer and co-founder of VII, while he instructed the documentary photography course for Barefoot Workshops in Clarksdale, Miss.

An exhibition opening and talk for “Delta Hill Riders” by Rory Doyle is on Tuesday, June 19, 2018, at 7 p.m. at the Half King Photography Series in New York City. It will be led by Anna Van Lenten, curator of the Half King Photography Series. The exhibition will run until Aug. 6. A concurrent show at Tikhonova Gallery in Harlem will have an opening reception Sunday, June 17, 2018, from 2 to 5 p.m. with an artist talk at 4 p.m. and runs through July 29, 2018.

Photography by Rory Doyle

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