The Kentucky Derby — the glamorous, tradition-soaked crown jewel of American horse racing, which arrives yearly in Could — has at all times carried a sophisticated Black legacy. Black jockeys dominated its earliest years, profitable 15 of the primary 28 races earlier than racism pushed them out of the game.
Right this moment, the Kentucky Derby is finest recognized for its opulent, high-society style, which incorporates flamboyant hats, in addition to its elite, worldwide visitor listing. However in response to Tina Knowles, even amidst all that grandeur, racism nonetheless lurks.
Or a minimum of, that was her expertise.
In Peacock’s new three-part documentary “Excessive Horse: The Black Cowboy,” the 71-year-old matriarch recollects attending the 2024 Kentucky Derby and being pushed apart on the crimson carpet so a white couple may go forward of her.
“It was a really massive wake-up name for me to attend the Kentucky Derby and to see this closed-off tradition,” Knowles says. “I imply, simply blatant.”
The Texas native remembers standing subsequent in line to stroll the carpet when a handler approached, stammering about how Knowles couldn’t be subsequent as a result of they “wanted…” earlier than she lower in and requested, “A white individual?” Moments later, the employees escorted a white couple from behind her and ushered them down the carpet.
“It’s racially charged there,” she says within the documentary. “There’s loads of racially charged power.”
The Kentucky Derby didn’t instantly return requests to remark to theGrio.
“Excessive Horse,” government produced by Jordan Peele’s Monkeypaw Productions, goals to reclaim the neglected legacy by tracing Black contributions to Western and Southern tradition (together with the Derby)—and the forces that sought to erase them.
In the course of the documentary, Knowles additionally recollects that as she was being waved apart on the Derby, her oldest daughter was going through her personal reckoning with the tradition’s blind spots. Knowles noticed the criticism Beyoncé’s Grammy-winning “Cowboy Carter” album drew for “appropriating” nation music a product of sheer ignorance concerning the style’s Black roots.
As for the claims that Beyoncé is one way or the other “rewriting” nation historical past? Knowles pushes again. “No, you rewrote the historical past,” she says. “We’re simply going again and straightening the story out.”
“Excessive Horse: The Black Cowboy” is streaming now on Peacock.
