Beyoncé, Country Music, and the Legacy of Black Cowboys

For decades, the contributions of Black artists to country music have been overshadowed by a narrative that has favored a whitewashed version of its history. The movement to reclaim this lost history in country music is not just about rectifying past wrongs; it is about enriching the present and future of the genre where artists like Rhiannon Giddens, who plays banjo on "Texas Hold’em," is finally recognized for her contribution to a genre that long ago manufactured the myth that country music was solely about the lives of poor white people.