Werent any blacks. There were portions of Southeast Texas where you had large black concentrations. Other places, they were scattered. There might be one. They were very wellrespected. A number gained really fine reputations. Anyone else . [laughter] i was wondering do they face the same kind of discrimination . Mike i cant answer that question. I would say a number of things have changed. I think that probably the attitudes towards black people in general and the population has been modified a great deal. Heres whats interesting. I was talking to some friends a long time ago. These were a couple of young people, white schoolteachers from chicago who were out west. They were in a place with a lot of white cowboys. They started teasing us about living in communities with a lot of black people and stuff like that. This black cowboy walks in. Everybody shakes his hand. When he leaves, hold on, hes a cowboy. I tell you one thing about him. Wearing a cowboy hat has got me into no trouble. It has got me thats why holly asked me. I have traveled all over the west. Ive been invited to come in and have drink send all kinds of things. Ive not heard a discouraging word. [laughter] i think what it is is that, if you live a cowboy life and you dress like a cowboy, good things happen. I think theres a sense that if you are wearing this, you are genuine. Ive gone to places where im wearing a tuxedo. People dont shun you, but they dont come up to you. I was outside of a store in a ugusta, and a little boy said, hi, cowboy mike. I said, how are you doing . You can see the look on the parents faces. How does that little boy know me . But again i go to all the , different schools and things like that, and he probably saw me doing a presentation. I bet you that no matter where i go, somebody will say something. I was on the escalator in atlanta. The guy was behind me. Hey, i like your hat. [laughter] i probably dont go away day without someone saying that. But i think it is it is the persona of the cowboy. Awas in germany, giving lecture at luther university, one of the professors loaned me a bicycle and i was riding along, and someone said, yippie kay ay. [laughter] this idea of cowboy images is very powerful. Yes . I have two questions. Are there black rodeos growing . What made you so passionate about becoming cowboy mike . Mike there are black rodeos in various parts of texas and other places, too. Oklahoma, places like that. Probably the bill pickett invitational is the only National Touring black rodeo that im familiar with. I just a passionate guy. Am [laughter] i could have been involved in coal mining. You are coal mining mike . And you would sayyou are coal mining mike . , yeah, im digging [laughter] up the cold. [laughter] look, ive just always been fascinated with the west. And when i traveled out west, i remember the first time i was flying into albuquerque. And im in the plain looking down, and i said, good gravy, looking down at albuquerque from that distance, no green. I grew up in illinois. I said this must be the moon. This is a lunarscape. One of the things that i just loved about it was the open spaces, the distances, and the way it made me feel. I started off when i was a youngster. My grandmother bought me a pair of six shooters and a cowboy outfit. That got me on the path. Later on, i just began to do that. It is something that just attracted me the way other things did not. Ok. They are afraid of the mic. Lets give a hearty thank you to cowboy mike. Huzzah hip hip huzzah ,hip hip huzzah ,hip hip huzzah time, hip hip huzzah ,hip hip huzzah ,hip hip huzzah , [laughter] thank you. Announcer youre watching American History tv covering history cspan style with lectures inms, College Classrooms and visits to allums and historic places, weekend, every weekend on cspan3. Next on history bookshelf, and jeannedavid booker talk about their the rise of Andrew Jackson myth, manipulation and the politics. Odern 2018. As recorded in were going to go ahead and start. Welcome. Welcome to our latest