The Chisholm Kid

The first black cowboy to be featured in a comic strip, The Chisholm Kid appeared from 1950 to 1954 in the Pittsburgh Courier, a storied black newspaper. Paying homage to the 5,000 to 9,000 Black cowboys who drove cattle along the Chisholm Trail from Texas to Kansas following the Civil War, as well as nodding to ongoing struggles for equality in the 1950s, this exhibition features panels from the original comic strip.

Known as the “Lone Fighter for Justice for All,” the namesake hero of The Chisholm Kid was portrayed as a positive black character equal to contemporaries like Hopalong Cassidy, Dick Tracy, Buck Rogers, and Flash Gordon.

The exhibition was organized by the Museum of UnCut Funk. The institute and the Texas Historical Commission will supplement the traveling exhibit with The Historic Chisholm Trail, an overview of the history of the trail and its enduring impact on Texas. Visitors will learn about the people who worked the trail and how to explore sites along the trail today.