Ritchey Lith. Corp. "The Bull-dogger" / Ritchey Lith. Corp. 1923. Print. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. https://www.loc.gov/item/92500459/.
Begin by asking students: What details do you notice first? What can you infer about Bill Pickett's job? What can the image tell us about the role of African Americans in the South? Students will discover how Bill Pickett impacted history then and now.
Bill Pickett was born in Texas to enslaved parents. He invented a popular rodeo sport that is still popular today.
Source: https://www.loc.gov/item/92500459/
Source: : https://www.loc.gov/item/92500459/
- Why do you think a Black cowboy is listed?
- What do you notice about the way he is standing?
- What do you notice in the background?
- Extension Question: How did Bill Pickett’s invention of bulldogging change rodeo and entertainment both in Texas and nationally?
ELA Standard
7.6B. Response. Write responses that demonstrate understanding of texts, including comparing sources within and across genres.
Social Studies Standard
7.18B. Culture. Describe how people from various racial, ethnic, and religious groups attempt to maintain their cultural heritage while adapting to the larger Texas culture.
Students conduct research on issues and interests by generating ideas and questions, and by posing problems. They gather, evaluate, and synthesize data from a variety of sources (e.g., print and non-print texts, artifacts, people) to communicate their discoveries in ways that suit their purpose and audience.
- Engage
- What do you notice about the gentleman’s clothing?
- What is his occupation?
- Students write a response to:
- Why might the image be important to Texas history?
- Students will share with a classmate before sharing as a class.
- Students create a timeline of Pickett's life to determine challenges he faced during the time period.
- Students write a brief response about how Bill Pickett influenced rodeos. They will use text evidence from the research they did on Pickett’s life and the time period. Ask students to keep track of their research in an electronic document so they can go back to reference it and pull evidence from those sites.
- Compare/contrast Bill Pickett to another Texas figure through poetry, drama, or any other genre students choose.
- Additional resources for this lesson include:
- The Oklahoma Historical Society offers insight on Bill Pickett’s life, along with black-and-white pictures that provide evidence of his success.
- Texas State Historical Association provides a brief biography of Bill Pickett’s life.
- The great bulldogger provides a glimpse into how Pickett’s innovation saved a man’s life when that man was still a child. It also shows some of the cultural norms of speaking and behavior of the time.
Highsmith, Carol M. Artist Lisa Perry's statue honoring W. M. "Bill" Pickett in the Stockyards District of Fort Worth, Texas. 2014. Photograph. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. https://www.loc.gov/item/2014632904/.