Sara Gallagher is Professor in Liberal Studies at Durham College in Oshawa, Ontario.

"Black Wests charts myriad processes by which Black identity was integrated into (or excluded from) notions of 'the West' and its attendant national myth-making functions. Gallagher's archival approach enriches the field considerably, examining in great detail how the genre's racial codings were inverted and negotiated in literature long before the cinematic Western had established its foothold in popular culture." - Austin Fisher, author of Blood in the Streets: Histories of Violence in Italian Crime Cinema"In capable close readings of authors like Pauline Hopkins and Nat Love, Gallagher's Black Wests contributes to the burgeoning study of African American engagement with the American West by showing how Black culture workers who used the western genre as an expression of double consciousness were often as constrained by it as they were enabled." - Emily Lutenski, author of West of Harlem: African American Writers and the Borderlands "A fascinating look at the often-hidden history of the ways African Americans shaped the West— both as it existed historically and was imagined by Black writers and filmmakers. Gallagher's study ranges across centuries and media, from a 19th century Black San Francisco-based newspaper, through 20th century African American filmmakers, to its delightful conclusion - Straight Outta Compton to 'Old Town Road.2" - Sara L. Spurgeon, Ph.D., author of Exploding the Western: Myths of Empire on the Postmodern Frontier

Sara Gallagher is Professor in Liberal Studies at Durham College in Oshawa, Ontario.

"Black Wests charts myriad processes by which Black identity was integrated into (or excluded from) notions of 'the West' and its attendant national myth-making functions. Gallagher's archival approach enriches the field considerably, examining in great detail how the genre's racial codings were inverted and negotiated in literature long before the cinematic Western had established its foothold in popular culture." - Austin Fisher, author of Blood in the Streets: Histories of Violence in Italian Crime Cinema"In capable close readings of authors like Pauline Hopkins and Nat Love, Gallagher's Black Wests contributes to the burgeoning study of African American engagement with the American West by showing how Black culture workers who used the western genre as an expression of double consciousness were often as constrained by it as they were enabled." - Emily Lutenski, author of West of Harlem: African American Writers and the Borderlands "A fascinating look at the often-hidden history of the ways African Americans shaped the West— both as it existed historically and was imagined by Black writers and filmmakers. Gallagher's study ranges across centuries and media, from a 19th century Black San Francisco-based newspaper, through 20th century African American filmmakers, to its delightful conclusion - Straight Outta Compton to 'Old Town Road.2" - Sara L. Spurgeon, Ph.D., author of Exploding the Western: Myths of Empire on the Postmodern Frontier

Sara Gallagher is Professor in Liberal Studies at Durham College in Oshawa, Ontario.

"Black Wests charts myriad processes by which Black identity was integrated into (or excluded from) notions of 'the West' and its attendant national myth-making functions. Gallagher's archival approach enriches the field considerably, examining in great detail how the genre's racial codings were inverted and negotiated in literature long before the cinematic Western had established its foothold in popular culture." - Austin Fisher, author of Blood in the Streets: Histories of Violence in Italian Crime Cinema"In capable close readings of authors like Pauline Hopkins and Nat Love, Gallagher's Black Wests contributes to the burgeoning study of African American engagement with the American West by showing how Black culture workers who used the western genre as an expression of double consciousness were often as constrained by it as they were enabled." - Emily Lutenski, author of West of Harlem: African American Writers and the Borderlands "A fascinating look at the often-hidden history of the ways African Americans shaped the West— both as it existed historically and was imagined by Black writers and filmmakers. Gallagher's study ranges across centuries and media, from a 19th century Black San Francisco-based newspaper, through 20th century African American filmmakers, to its delightful conclusion - Straight Outta Compton to 'Old Town Road.2" - Sara L. Spurgeon, Ph.D., author of Exploding the Western: Myths of Empire on the Postmodern Frontier