There's A Fascinating Documentary On Compton's Black Cowboys In The Works

What makes Los Angeles special is the rich history we have in this city, but there's one story that hasn't quite gotten its moment in the sun yet: the black cowboy culture in Compton.

Director Brett Fallentine recently launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund his feature-length documentary, Fire on the Hill. It focuses on how Compton Cowboy culture has been a way of life in the inner city, and helps folks stay out of gangs.

"When people think of Compton, they don't think of cowboys," Fallentine says in his Kickstarter video. "In fact, this heritage has been a strong part of the story of Compton since the establishment of the city back in the late 1800s."

However, since the Compton Cowboys' stable, dubbed the Hill, mysteriously burnt down in 2012, the Compton Cowboy culture has been in decline, with only about a dozen or so left riding through the streets of South L.A., according to the Kickstarter page. Fallentine says he's partly using the documentary as a tool to bring attention to the Hill, which remains vacant right now, but if it gets bought, that will take away the "last bit of land this culture has," he says.

The Kickstarter is about halfway there to their $60,000 goal, with their campaign ending on March 21. If you're interested in donating, you can check out their page here.

Here's a teaser of what's to come if the funding goal is fulfilled:

[h/t: LA Observed]