Books, Movies & Music Companions for Cowboy Carter
Watch, Read and Listen
Cowboy Carter has nothing but controversial from the moment Beyonce dropped it last year. Mostly because music is one of the last bastions of outright racial segregation that we still have in media. There are Black radio stations and there are White radio stations and Country stations want it to stay that way. When Bey released Texas Hold ‘Em some stations refused to play it because to them she wasn’t a Country star even though the song featured banjos and spoke of country themes. She was Black and she was a pop star. She wasn’t welcome. She was so unwelcome that even though the album boasted collaborations with Country greats like Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson, it garnered 0 Country Music Award Nominations. This would be surprising if you didn’t watch the crowd at the CMA’s cringe when she performed with The Chicks years before.
The album and the woman herself refuse to be shut out of any American art form. For that we salute her and I am recommending a few things to Read, Watch and Listen to once you’re done binging the album.
Read
Beverly Jenkins is the historical romance GOAT! If you’ve never read anything of hers might I suggest Indigo, her best novel IMO about a woman rescued from slavery as a child who begins working the underground railroad only to fall in love with one of it’s conductors, The Black Daniel. I digress.
The book that I want you to focus on of hers is Wild Rain.
Banished by her grandfather at the age of eighteen, Spring Lee has survived scandal to claim her own little slice of Paradise, Wyoming. She’s proud of working her ranch alone and unwilling to share it with a stranger—especially one like Garrett McCray, who makes her second-guess her resolve to avoid men.
Garrett escaped slavery years ago and is now a reporter in Washington. He’s traveled west to interview Dr. Colton Lee for an article, yet it’s Lee’s fearless sister, Spring, who captures his interest. Clad in denim and buckskins instead of dresses, she’s the most fascinating woman he’s ever met. And he’s certain she also feels the connection that sizzles between them.
But when a shadow from Spring’s past returns, all is on the line: her ranch, her safety—and this wild, fierce love.
Watch
Nicole Beharie eats in every role, but this story about a Juneteenth pageant queen and her fall from grace and redemption is really a gem. It’s a quiet movie, but reflective of a place, Texas, and a woman who is grappling with what it means to have potential.
Listen
Tanner Adell is the self-proclaimed Beyonce with a lasso and I have personally jammed to her Buckle Bunny single, many a time. She’s fun and her music is heartfelt and unpretentious. That’s what country is supposed to be like. It’s not about showing off, its about being happy with an open sky and a beer. One of my fave tracks is FU-150.
Enjoy!
I was inspired by Regina Black. Check out her recommendations:
If you missed a few of my posts this week, I’ve been focusing on Black History Month, so here is a roundup.
10 Books about Black Girlhood to Read this Black History Month
By now you’ve probably heard that Judy Blume’s Forever is getting a TV adaptation by Mara Akil on Netflix! Yeah for Judy, who is always great. The main character in this adaptation is Black and while I think there should definitely be more shows about Black girlhood, RIP Disney’s
Black History Month Self Study Guides
The executive orders about changes to the K-12 curriculum and the absence of Black History Month are unfortunate, but that doesn’t absolve us from learning about Black history and the contributions that Black people have made in America. It may even free us to present and teach a more accurate version of Black History that is messier, more aggressive an…
I'm so mad at myself for not having watched Miss Juneteenth yet. Nicole Beharie is my dream cast for every woman I write.