Bill Pickett: Rodeo-Ridin' Cowboy

Probably no other black cowboy has been as celebrated as Bill Pickett. A rodeo star, he has been honored with a postage stamp and has been the subject of a handful of books, including Bill Pickett, Bulldogger: The Biography of a Black Cowboy and Guts: Legendary Black Rodeo Cowboy Bill Pickett. Add to that list the children's book Bill Pickett: Rodeo Ridin' Cowboy by Andrea Pinkney. No matter how you feel about rodeo, it's hard not to admire Pickett, who was known to bring an unruly steer to its knees by taking a bite out of the animal's upper lip.