August 13, 2013 -- The Lone Ranger

There is a rumor the Lone Ranger
was a Negro and that’s why
the white guys who always play him
wear a full-face black mask.

                                                                                  Hi-Yo Silver!  Away!

When I was in the seventh grade
(must have been 1968/1969),
I wrote a theme paper entitled,
“The Story of the Negro Cowboys.”

                                                                                 Who was that masked man, anyway?

Nat Love, also known as Deadwood Dick,
Bill Pickett, One Horse Charley (also
known as Nigger One Horse Charley)
and Bass Reeves, slave-turned-lawman.

                                                                                Was Bass Reeves really the Lone Ranger?

Maybe.  Maybe not.  But the last thing
we need right now is a mythological Negro,
on a white horse, here to save us from
a mythologized Negro on a white horse.

                                                                                 Hi-Yo Silver!  Away!

“A fiery horse with the speed of light,
a cloud of dust, and a hearty Hi Yo Silver!”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/10131675/Was-the-real-Lone-Ranger-black.html?fb