The Black Cowboys of North Philly (Philadelphia: crime, unemployment, live)

[thedirtypirate]

https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/20...g-club/515520/

For more than 100 years, horsemen in North Philadelphia have been countering crime with a love of horses. The Fletcher Street stables provide a safe environment for locals to escape a community overcome by gang violence and unemployment. Photographer Ann SophieLindström spent several months documenting the group to complete her interactive project, “Don’t Fence Me In.” At first, the horsemen were not impressed by Lindström, but when she shared her prints with them, they warmed to the European photographer. “The horses give them an opportunity to get away from everything that is going on in their lives,” she said. “Horses can heal troubled souls. That is something I experienced myself.”

Nice photo journalism that I thought was worth sharing.

Nice short film with personal interviews: https://verse.com/stories/605-dont-f...nt-fence-me-in

I use to see them riding around on occassion when I lived in North Philly.

This particular guy use to trot his pony up and down my block and try to show off his sweet chariot/wagon thing.

[Gerania]

Are there any horse crossing signs? I was surprised when I first learned of the horse culture there. People are surprised that AAs ride horses? Relatively speaking, it wasn't that long ago that everyone did.

Those are very nice photos. Vacant lots aren't necessarily a plus for a city, but I'm glad the horses have some dirt where they can run around, and a bit of grazing land.