The Compton Cowboys Book Review

“They were riding. . . as a way to stay alive and to eradicate stereotypes about black cowboys and their city, proudly proclaiming their motto: ‘Streets raised us. Horses saved us.'” ~Walter Thompson-Hernandez in The Compton Cowboys

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When I became a teacher, I had to write a non-traditional master’s thesis in order to earn my degree and credential at Claremont Graduate University. At the start of my first school year (which ran concurrently with my master’s program) I was tasked with selecting five students who were racially and/or socio-economically different from me and–this will sound easy–get to know all about them on a deep level and write about them.

It was the most practical and beneficial research project I’ve ever  done.

My thesis’s purpose was to tell their stories, and try to understand what school was like for them. I didn’t really know what I was doing at first, but as each week passed my empathy grew. I realized the sacrifices parents made to create opportunities for their children. I noticed cases where students who, at first glance, might have seemed to not care about their education really did care–they just had other pressing matters in their personal life that overshadowed everything else on their proverbial plates.

My eyes were opened in a way that inspired me to think differently about education and privilege.

Those lessons have stayed with me all these years.

Why am I blathering on about my thesis?

Well, I think many of us can grow in our understanding of people different from us. I am not a black cowboy who grew up in Compton, and my guess is you aren’t either. Which is why I think you should read this book–because you’re presumably also a horse lover, and what an opportunity to become acquainted with fellow riders who, like us, find freedom and solace on the back of a horse.

What’s interesting about becoming a student of people, is when the layers get peeled back, you see that at our core, we’re quite similar–we have the same deep desires and aspirations. At least that was what I was reminded of reading The Compton Cowboys.

As I read the skillfully told stories of various members of the Compton Cowboys, I folded the corners on pages that struck me–pages like page 47 “Horses had a way of helping young people heal from different forms of trauma,” and page 78 where the ranch is described as “a sanctuary where everyone came to find balance and peace.”

Those passages resonated with me, thinking about how my horse has repeatedly been there for me–a gift to soothe my troubled soul. Also, the farm where I board Knight now has been a total haven for me in the midst of some turbulent personal crises over the last year.

My heartbreaks and issues are not in the same vein as what the horsemen and horsewomen of Compton face on a day-to-day basis, but my point is horses can bring joy in the midst of sorrow and give us a temporary reprieve from the ugly in this world. For that I am grateful. And I’m not the only one “out there” who feels that way.

Who are the Compton Cowboys?

When I first found out about the Compton Cowboys last year, happening upon their Instagram account, I didn’t really know who they were. I knew Compton had a horse community because I was familiar with Compton Junior Posse (now called Compton Junior Equestrians). I figured there must be a connection, but I didn’t realize that the several of the cowboys are alumni from CJP.

Some of the cowboys got out of horses for a while and now as adults, their return to the horses and lifestyle has been a reunion with old friends, a means of expression and even survival.

As you read the book, each chapter focuses on a particular individual. The stories are told in vignettes almost like a memoir–it’s not linear. In these pages you will learn about the visionary founder Mayisha Akbar, who in 1988, as a newly-divorced mom of three stumbled upon the rural Richland Farms section of Compton and decided that would be home for her and her three young children. She wanted them to have access to horses and a farm-like setting as she did when she was a child, since she believed horses played an integral role in her personal development.

Over time Mayisha found many neighborhood kids weren’t having basic needs met and she opened her life and horses to them, serving them through food, homework help, and more. The horses were the means by which she encouraged the children to grow in self-esteem, leadership and responsibility.

What began as an informal gathering of local children, morphed into a formal organization with a mission to keep kids off the streets and on horses–Compton Junior Posse was born.

Another prominent individual in the book is the current leader and co-founder of the Compton Junior Equestrians (the name changed when the torch was passed in 2019), Randall Hook, Akbar’s nephew. The book shares challenges Randy has encountered in keeping the Compton Junior Equestrians going while making changes to the group so it can more authentically represent the forgotten history of the black cowboys in the west. When newly at the helm, Randy had to pursue sponsors and donors to back up the five-pillar program he developed, the pillars being Education, Business, Athletics, Guidance and Therapy.

Without formal training in running a philanthropic organization and business, Randy has learned while on the job. Another facet to his new leadership for the group is a desire to build bridges between other black cowboys around the country in order to create similar youth ranch programs in places such as Chicago and Philadelphia. The need for these types of programs “felt especially urgent [to Randy] as the killing of unarmed black men by police officers continued to occur throughout the United States.” Randy believes these ranches can help decrease violence, provide camaraderie and social justice and the horses can help save black lives.

Side note: one of the ideas that blew my mind during this book was how frequently the Compton Cowboys choose the horses as a means of transportation in the neighborhood because it provides them safety. Basically the horses serve as an identifier, potentially keeping them off the radar of wayward/violent policing or being mistaken by gang members as other people.

One of the Compton Cowboys is actually a cowgirl. Keiara is a single mom who began competing in rodeos at the age of 13. She faced discrimination on the circuit of mostly white rodeos but then began riding in the Bill Pickett Rodeo circuit (black rodeos) which opened doors for her to meet and mingle with black riders from across the country, showing her she was not alone. Her riding dreams were placed on hold while she mourned the violent gun death of her brother.

There’s actually a theme in The Compton Cowboys of friends and family members’ lives cut short by gun violence. The pain of racism, the ominous presence of police who don’t truly serve and protect, the gang warfare, the addictions–all of these things make horses all the more heroic and necessary.

One of the more heartbreaking, yet also uplifting stories in this book is about a man named Anthony. Anthony was initiated into a gang at the age of 8. Read that sentence again. Age 8. He was raised by a single dad who worked long hours as a school custodian, and wasn’t able to oversee his son to keep him away from bad influences. Anthony met Mayisha at the ranch and became an ardent young horse fan. When the school day was over he would run to the ranch and drink in the tranquility and community.  However he was leading a double life: “being on the ranch he was exempt from the life of crime and violence he was living.”

Eventually, the lure of the gang lifestyle and quick cash dealing drugs overshadowed his desire for all things horse. He was a sucker for fancy cars and at 17 he bought his dream car with the proceeds from his dealing. His deeds caught up with him and he wound up in prison. Fights were the rule, not the exception and he spent weeks in solitary confinement.

Anthony began to work out to achieve a chiseled physique as a means to defend himself. Other inmates noticed and started asking him to fight their enemies on their behalf. This was not satisfying.

At the end of his first year, he became more withdrawn and began to remember the horses. He soon drew the horses, pictures of young black boys and girls on horses, the trees of the ranch. His pictures were simple, and the pencils and paper scarce.

The prison library became a favorite place where Anthony started checking out books with animals–any books he could use as models to learn how to draw horses. The pencils no longer satisfied the budding artist and inmates are not allowed to have colored pencils as there is a fear they will pulverize them, making drugs out of them. So Anthony began smashing Skittles and mixing them with water to create a medium with vibrant colors to bring his horses to life. He began Skittle painting in earnest and other inmates would ask him for their own horse drawings.

Flash forward, Anthony got out of prison, returned to the neighborhood and the prodigal was embraced by Mayisha. He was given a job on the ranch. He continues to ride, and one of his favorite things to do is to pick up his granddaughter from school on horseback.

There are many other stories which I could synopsize here, but I think it’s best if you just read the book for yourself. Click here to buy.

Final Thoughts on The Compton Cowboys

In conclusion, this is an intimate book inviting us into the world of a group of inspiring equestrians. The book made me sad, angry, laugh and learn history I never knew. The question I am now left with is knowing what I know, and possessing what I have both in skills and personal resources, what is my role to bring the love of horses to children who need them just as I do? What is my place in keeping kids like this generation’s Anthony’s and Keiara’s on the back of a horse? And perhaps that is the conversation the equestrian world at large should be having at this moment.

Thank you for reading and tally ho!

Leave a Comment: Have you read The Compton Cowboys yet? What did you think? Also, do you know of other youth organizations that serve a similar need (outside of Los Angeles)?

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