A new black rodeo is set to debut in Portland this Juneteenth
There are rodeos all around the country, and some of them in Oklahoma, Texas, and Colorado celebrate the Black cowboy tradition. However, it is uncommon to see a Black Rodeo in the Pacific Northwest, and there hasn’t been a significant Black rodeo in Oregon in recent years.
Portland, Oregon is set to host the 8 Seconds Juneteenth Rodeo, a brand-new event, on June 17. Guests seeking to attend rodeos may face limited accessibility by train from major cities. However, a viable option for those in Portland is to take the MAX Light Rail for about thirty minutes from downtown to the Expo Center. This venue is known to host various events such as conventions, local sporting events, and occasional performances like Cirque du Soleil.
According to AFAR, the 8 Seconds Rodeo offers a chance to start fresh, while long-running rodeos usually offer the same thing to their audiences every year. In Portland, “nobody’s really gonna have a clue what’s going on,” 8 Seconds’ founder and photographer Ivan McClellan said. “I think a lot of the fans are gonna have on their first pair of boots that they’ve ever worn, and they’re gonna leave with sore feet at the end of the night.”
Renowned for its urban attractions such as art galleries and craft breweries, Portland has become a popular destination for tourists seeking a vibrant city experience. Although Portland provides convenient access to natural surroundings, the majority of its visitors who enjoy outdoor activities tend to prefer hiking over the rodeo events such as bareback riding, roping, barrel racing, bull riding, and bulldogging (also known as steer wrestling) that will be showcased at 8 Seconds.
These activities, along with barbecue, alcohol, the blues, and country music, are typical at rodeos. The Black community in Portland, Oregon is benefiting from 8 Seconds’ adaptation of this model. Black Star Grill, a Ghanaian restaurant, Felton and Mary’s, a barbecue joint, and a VIP bar selling original cocktails will all be present. DJ O.G.ONE, the official DJ of the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers, will be spinning some of the best in hip-hop and R&B. “We’re not gonna play the music that they play in the South,” McClellan added.
McClellan, a native Kansan who attended his first Black rodeo in 2015, was inspired to shoot Black cowboy culture after attending the Roy LeBlanc Okmulgee Invitational Rodeo in Oklahoma, highlights AFAR. Although he no longer owns a horse or participates in rodeos, the Portland Art Museum has featured his photographs and he remains committed to serving the local community.
When enslaved people were freed in Texas on June 19, two and a half years after President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, Vince Jones-Dixon, a city councilor from the nearby suburb of Gresham, suggested to McClellan the idea of a rodeo aligned with Juneteenth. In addition to increasing the region’s tourism through events, Jones-Dixon said he wants to introduce a broader audience to the therapeutic advantages of horseback riding. He expressed interest in carrying on the rodeo in the years to come, saying, “I’m looking forward to what happens after the fact. This is in the hearts and minds of so many people here in Oregon, and the athletes as well.”
McClellan initially rejected the idea of holding a rodeo in Portland as being ridiculous. He would need to transport dirt, fencing, and bleachers because the Portland Expo Center is not a recognized rodeo venue. Yet after giving it some more thought, McClellan came to the conclusion, “That’s exactly what’s needed.”
McClellan, who will serve as the rodeo announcer, also intends to have young guests come up and read tales of Black pioneers aloud during the course of the day in addition to the typical rodeo events. People will learn more about individuals like Jesse Stahl, a bronc rider who was underrated in his spectacular rodeo performances in the early 20th century because he was Black, and Letitia Carson, one of Oregon’s first Black landowners. McClellan also wishes for attendees to gain a better understanding of the rodeo’s setting, which is in a region of North Portland that was originally home to the historic Black neighborhood of Vanport, whose residents were pushed away by a flood in 1948.
8 Seconds will provide five children in attendance scholarships for a year of riding lessons in an effort to encourage the next generation to carry on the tradition of Black horsemanship. “All the athletes this year are coming in from out of town,” McClellan remarked, “and our vision is that in 5 to 10 years, we’ll have some local-grown athletes who grew up riding up here, who learned to rodeo with the 8 Seconds Rodeo.”
Seeing these Black cowboys in their city and realizing this is a part of their culture is a very uplifting experience for young people, he continued. “This is something that they can go and do themselves.”
8 Seconds Juneteenth Rodeo tickets are $42 for general admission and $160 for VIP on June 17, 2023. The doors open at 3, and the concert begins at 7.
Evie Blanco is a journalist with nearly a decade of experience born in the Dominican Republic and raised in Queens, New York. She is extremely well-versed in hip-hop music and culture and is always aware of its developments. Whether it’s the latest in pop culture, a fascinating foreign destination, a truly amazing new restaurant, or breaking news, she loves to write about it all. Evie can be reached at EvieBlanco@detourxp.com