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reprinted from Phoenix
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I was really
nervous on my first day at Augusta State. Coming from a small town
in New Jersey, I knew I would be exposed to totally new experiences in the
South, and I hoped that I could make the necessary adjustments and do well
my first quarter. But I really didn’t know what to expect. My first class
was American History. In the past, I hadn’t been very fond of the
subject--too many names and dates for a person who couldn’t remember
what she ate for dinner last night. So naturally I sat in the first
row in an attempt to make myself enjoy history, or at least make the
professor think I was enjoying history. Then the professor walked
in. He was a black man over six feet tall, wearing a black cowboy
hat, white cowboy shirt, and black dungarees. A black knotted
bandanna was tied around his neck as he sported a big, shiny buckled belt.
His black Dingo boots made the only sound in the room as he walked across
the floor. I think every chin in the classroom dropped to the floor! He hung his hat
on a hook near the chalkboard, revealing a low cut, salt and peppered
afro. “Good Morning. My name is Professor Searles.” He said with
a big Texas grin. “But most people just call me Cowboy Mike!”
Then he began to give information about famous black cowboys and Native
Americans who made positive contributions to the development of the West.
Not only did he bring the flavor of the West into the classroom by his
manner of dress, but he also brought pieces of history that I had never
been taught. “Generally
when students take an American history course they get broad bushes of
major themes and ideas.” Searles said. “In many cases
what’s going on as it relates to a given group is omitted. Maybe
not out of a lack of concern but sometime there’s just a lack of space.
The overall impression for many students is that they get no real sense of
what happens to some groups. What happened to the Native
Americans...or to black folks? That’s because those folks are only
introduced at critical moments... like during slavery. But you
don’t get a sense of connection. When you teach a class that
specializes, you get a chance to give students the connections.” When Cowboy
Mike began teaching about blacks like Estevanico, who was a part of the
Spanish exploration of Florida in 1528, my concept of all blacks arriving
on slave ships was shattered. Professor Searles has been
giving students “the connections” at ASU for about six years. He
earned his undergraduate degree from Southern Illinois University and
achieved a master’s degree in African American History form Howard
University in Washington, D.C. He began to incorporate his knowledge
of black cowboys into his lesson plans at Bogg’s Academy where he taught
eighth-grade Social Studies; and by the time he transferred to Hephzibah
Middle School, it became a regular part of his curriculum. “I remember
when I bought my first cowboy hat. I was taking students from
Bogg’s Academy in Georgia on a trip to Williamsburg, Virginia. We
stopped at a little backwoods shop in North Carolina and I bought a
brand-new hat. When I put it on my head, one of the students told
me, ‘you don’t want to wear that hat. It makes you look like a
cowboy.’ From that point on, I began to gather articles and books
so I could incorporate the history of black cowboys into my teachings.”
The hat was purchased about 20 years
ago. It’s old now--complete with a hole in the top where it was
eaten by moths. Professor Michael Searles still wears it sometimes.
In the past he told students that the hole was made by a bullet!!
It is in this same manner that some
books and scholars presented history in the past. “I feel there
are a lot of myths in history,” he said. “Part of the myth
is that Western history is a white experience. When asking students
how many knew about blacks in the west, I found that none of them
replied.”
Cowboy Mike went on to explain that many
people have very fuzzy notions about what the west was really like.
That’s because black cowboys aren’t in the history books. “People didn’t think they had much merit. Black folks didn’t
fit the mold so they were excluded from it, although blacks were prevalent
in the west.... All people of color were excluded from history of the
west, but nowadays scholars recognize the presence of blacks and
minorities in the west. I try to introduce those ideas so people can
get off of what is often very narrow thinking.”
Cowboy Mike teacher history in a way
that people from every culture can appreciate the development of our
country. All students are more likely to be roped in by the
information offered by Professor Searles’ history classes.
“What I seek to do when I teach a
history class is to teach that history is much more complex and has many
more aspects than what has been previously taught. There are a lot
of things in American History that people just don’t talk about.
That’s the value of the courses like the one I teach. Students
begin to say, ‘oh! it’s a little broader than what I thought: And
oh!...it looks like this has been somewhat sanitized: Or... oh! they try
to portray Americans in a somewhat more heroic light than in fact they
really were.’ So that’s a plus value to understand the fuller
implications of history.”
According to History Department Head Dr.
Ed Cashin, Professor Searles is totally committed to giving students a
fuller understanding of Western History. “I have seldom seen anybody as
dedicated as he is to teaching. He is continually going on speaking
trips to various places. He seems to have an inexhaustible supply of
energy and good humor.”
Not only does Professor Searles make
presentations to many different schools in the area about black cowboys
and minorities in the West, but he often goes the extra mile, or miles,
out West to get his details first hand.
A few years ago he traveled out West to
do interviews. “It was also a lot of fun because I got to
interview about 40 black cowboys. A few cowgirls too, but mainly
cowboys. I asked them ‘What was life like at different ages and
what kind of work did you do?’ I got some great interviews.”
Although several of the people that Cowboy Mike interviewed have passed
away, the interviews are very important to the preservation of history.
“One of the fellows was especially important because right now I’m
doing some work with the George Historical Ranch which is in Richmond,
Texas near Houston, and the fellow I interviewed had a great-grandfather
who worked on that ranch. His father had been very active in the
Fort Bend area and had a close connection to people who worked on the
ranch as well. It was important to the ranch because the information
I got about him can be used to develop an understanding of what it was
like to be a black cowboy living on that ranch at the time.”
Cowboy Mike has found interviewing to be
a great opportunity to hear about history from the horse’s mouth, but
he’s also learning a few things first hand. And while most people
have experienced playing cowboys and Indians as a child, Cowboy Mike is
one of the lucky people who doesn’t have to stop.
“During February, I went on the
Prairie View Trail Ride, which is the oldest black trail riding
association in Texas. As a prelude, the Houston Livestock and Rodeo
Show has trail riders come from all over East and South Texas to Houston.
They spend the night in a park and in the morning they have a big parade.
Being on a seven-day trail ride was just a wonderful experience. We
would ride all day, then we’d water and feed the horses and let them
graze for the night. There was a wonderful cook there, and we’d
eat and have activities going on.”
“During the day we’d stop at
elementary schools and talk to teachers, and groups of students would come
out and ask questions. A lot of interesting people were on that
trail ride. You’re riding every day and you’re talking to a lot
of different people and sharing your experiences. It was
wonderful.”
The summer months are even more exciting
for Cowboy Mike. After school is out, he gets cabin fever and never
lets the grass grow under his Dingos. He’s out of town before
sundown, partner! Next stop...Colorado.
“Colorado has a lot of mountains and
mountain streams.... It’s very picturesque. When the leaves are
changing to golden and yellow as the Aspen leaves do, and the leaves are
shimmering, it creates an interesting kind of effect. It’s just a
great thing. You feel like you’re next to heaven... Sometimes you
get caught up in the spirit of that kind of experience. I thought
what would it be like to immerse myself in a mountain stream...so I did!
The water was extremely cold. It was a shocking kind of
experience.”
“A lot of things you do when you’re
young have no place in your adult life. I’m very fortunate to be
able to do in life, as a profession, those things you enjoyed in your
youth. I’m here from 9:00 am until 6:00 pm and sometimes on
weekends. This is a second home to me. It would be terrible to
not enjoy your second home.”
History Professor Lee Ann Caldwell said
that Professor Searles is “...like a breath of fresh air every morning.
He’s one of the happiest people I know. I asked him if he ever got
down about things. He thought for a while and said, ‘No, I have
too many blessings.’ I think that’s a marvelous approach to
life. He’s one of those people who sees life in a positive way and
carries it all the way through.”
Not only is Professor Searles painting a
historical picture of the West that people of every ethnic background can
enjoy, but he’s also showing how much fun it can be when you dedicate
your life to doing what you really love. No wonder he always seems
happy.
Cowboy Mike with bubbling laughter said,
“I can’t think of anything I’d rather do than stand in front of a
classroom and teach. I should be paying ASU for letting me have so
much fun.”
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