"Concrete Cowboys," starring Idris Elba, Caleb McLaughlin, Jharrel Jerome, and Method Man, is now streaming on Netflix. The film, which is shining a spotlight.
The little-known history of the Black ‘Concrete Cowboy’
In Philadelphia, a Black cowboy in a white undershirt and a gold chain wrangles a wayward horse. Teens pile hay and clean up manure near brick row houses. Men and women ride cantering horses down a city street as cars pass by.
These are scenes from “Concrete Cowboy,” a new Netflix movie starring Idris Elba and Caleb McLaughlin. But they’re also the reality in parts of north Philly, where the movie was filmed and a subculture of urban Black cowboys has existed for more than a century.
“It’s a real community that exists right now and has been part of Philadelphia … and other urban cities around America for over 100 years,” Elba said on the “Today” show earlier this month. “These communities had these beautiful animals as part of their lifeblood. And when the motorcars came, the Black folk kept the horses as part of the fabric of their communities.”
The little-known history of the Black Concrete Cowboy krdo.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from krdo.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
By JOCELYN NOVECK AP National Writer
April 7, 2021
5
It feels like a tale as old as time: Wayward teenage son meets up with estranged father, one needing some straightening out, the other some serious humanizing. Can they connect?
But if that’s the familiar story at the heart of “Concrete Cowboy,” starring the appealing duo of Idris Elba and terrific newcomer Caleb McLaughlin, there’s much more here to contemplate. That’s because of the fascinating, very real-life world in which this predictable yet warm-hearted story takes place: the community of Black equestrians in North Philadelphia.
Wait, what? Urban cowboys in the streets of Philly? That’s exactly the reaction 15-year-old Cole (McLaughlin) has after being transported from Detroit and dumped in the streets by his desperate Mom, who hopes Dad will set him right. Harp (Elba) is over at the stables, Cole is told. He replies: “The WHAT?”