Black Cowboys

The Denver Post has a nice piece on unappreciated Frontier Black History - and the Nat'l Western Stock Show's attempts to spotlight the contributions blacks have made to the development of the West.

Also here are some early Black Westerners being honored tonight at the Rodeo in honor of MLK day:

Clara Brown (1803-85): The slave freed by her Kentucky owner became the first African-American woman to reach the Colorado gold fields, earning passage by cooking for miners. In Central City, she opened a laundry, saved her money and earned fame helping the less fortunate. She is called "The Angel of the Rockies."

Justina Ford (1871-1952): The former home of Colorado's first female black doctor, at 3901 California St., serves as the Black American West Museum and Denver's Ford-Warren Branch Library is named in her honor.

Cranford Goldsby (1876-96): Known as Cherokee Bill and the black Billy the Kid, this famous bank robber and train bandit won his first gunfight at 18 years old and was hanged two years later in Fort Smith, Ark., for the deaths of 13 men.

Barney Ford (1822-1902): He was born a slave but became one of Denver's leading pioneer businessmen who established literacy classes for blacks and fought for their right to vote.

Willie Kennard: This marshal is credited with taming the gold-mining camp of Yankee Hill, about 25 miles west of Denver, in 1874.

Nat "Deadwood Dick" Love (1854-1921): Born a slave in Tennessee, he became one of the Old West's most famous riders, ropers and shooters.

Bill Pickett (1870-1932): The first African-American inducted into the National Cowboy Hall of Fame.