Soul Circuit: Juneteenth Rodeos in Texas

Beginning August 13, the Bastrop County Museum & Visitor Center will present Soul Circuit: Juneteenth Rodeos in Texas, an exhibition created by Humanities Texas, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, in partnership with the Tom Lea Institute.
Soul Circuit: Juneteenth Rodeos in Texas honors the underappreciated cowboys and cowgirls of a particular time and place through images by photographer Sarah Bird. In the late 1970s, a time when rodeo competitors with ranch backgrounds were more the rule than the exception, Black communities throughout Texas held local rodeos for cowboys and cowgirls excluded from the mainstream, white-sponsored circuits.
Known as the “Soul Circuit,” this thriving network of small-town rodeos played a crucial role in perpetuating and sustaining the more than two-hundred-year lineage of Black cowboys in America. These jubilant occasions, particularly Juneteenth rodeos, celebrated fellowship, community, and victories both in and out of the arena.
August 13 - September 20
Member Preview: August 10
Included in museum admission