Philadelphia holds the preeminence of being called “ the city of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection . ” The urban center is smother by historical significance , ethnic landmarks , and ethnic diversity . But one of Philadelphia ’s well - kept secret is theFletcher Street Urban Riding Club , a horse stable for urban youth riders and home to a roaring community of Black cowboys that have been in world here for more than a one C . It’sthe commission of the clubto promote horsemanship within the inner - metropolis , allow for equid therapy , and advance academic excellence in the city ’s Strawberry Mansion neighborhood . Against all odds , and despite constant gentrification , Philadelphia ’s Black cowboys have made a home for themselves , their prized horses , and the preservation of their way of living for more than 100 years .
While the Black horsemanship community is well - established in this area , the non-profit-making Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club as it live now was only officially established in 2004 byEllis Ferrell . put up in Tallahassee , Florida , in 1939 , Ferrellcultivated a lovefor the cowboy life at an other age while riding crap on his grandmother ’s farm . When he displace to Philadelphia as a teenager , Ferrell was intent on keeping the tradition awake in the big city up north . He not only believed that horse riding was the ultimate sport , but that caring for the animals had the potential to bring healing to the human feeling .
“ Horse riding is not only therapeutic and instills discipline , ” Ferrell says on the club ’s internet site , " but it enables a gumption of authorisation to the voteless and those living in community of hopelessness . ” As the cowboys take care of the horse , a kind of reciprocity takes place that allows those who pass through the nightspot to adopt use , life skills , and disciplines that inspire human flourishing .
Four decades after make it in Philadelphia , Ferrell ’s dream add up reliable when he became leader of a stable of five horses on 31st and Master Streets in 1980 . Now 82 years old , Ferrell iskeeping the custom aliveby hap it down to his son Darrin who , along with the other Tennessean , provides sustentation to the horse at the unchanging .
The story of Philadelphia ’s Black cowboys has transcended the city itself and garner the interior spotlight . Their legacy is the subject of a popular novel , Ghetto Cowboy , written by Greg Neri in 2011 . The novel was recently adapted into a new moving-picture show titledConcrete Cowboy , starringIdris ElbaandStranger Thingsstar Caleb McLaughlin , who play a father and son seek to repair their strained relationship . snipe out the cast is Lorraine Toussaint , Jharrel Jerome , and Cliff “ Method Man ” Smith . Lee Daniels , two - time Academy Award nominee and a Philadelphia native , is one of the photographic film ’s manufacturer .
Concrete Cowboy — which will drop on Netflix on April 2 , 2021 — was shot on locating at the Fletcher Street horse barn , with several of the grouping ’s real - life cowboys act , perform stunts , and consulting to secure the film ’s authenticity .
It was a hazard face-off that brought the stables to the attention ofConcrete Cowboydirector Ricky Staub . He was work at his office in Philadelphia ’s Brewerytown neighborhood one day when he looked out his window " and there was this guy riding a stroller that was play a joke on out . I could n’t believe it . The perambulator had black brim and speakers . I ran down and talk to this gentleman who say me about Fletcher Street , " Staub say . " Then I came across Greg Neri ’s rule book , Ghetto Cowboy . I translate it and thought that this had the potential difference to be an unbelievable photographic film . ”
WhileConcrete Cowboyis a piece of fable , much of it hits close to nursing home for Ferrell and his fellow urban cowpuncher — whose way of aliveness is now being threatened . As Philadelphia ’s gentrification is moving at a speedy pace , the fortune of the Fletcher Street stable currentlyhangs in the balance . Still , there are legion effort to bring through them from the metropolis ’s redevelopment plans . And Staub , for one , is committed to avail Fletcher Street in any style he can .
" From the very source , the mission behind making a pic was to depict attention to the fact that these biotic community of sinister cowboys were being force out through gentrification , " Staub enjoin Mental Floss of the impetus behindConcrete Cowboy . " One of the slipway we ’re stress to combat this is with the aid of Cozen O’Connor , a constabulary business firm in Philly , and their pro bono work . They helped us set up a nonprofit call up thePhiladelphia Urban Riding Academyso that we could actually build a space that would last eternally . "
Already , they ’ve had to undertake a few major challenges . " We ’ve been rent a lot with the city and did n’t get very far with them , " Staub say . " Unfortunately , the [ horse ' skimming ] field is already being developed for low-cost housing , so there ’s nowhere for the horse to go . As part of this non-profit-making , we really just launched aGoFundMeto upgrade $ 2 million , so we can buy commonwealth within the city and build a static . Because one of the trouble is that even if youhavea stable , the city … still owns the land and can kick you off whenever they require . Our hope and our destination is to make a space that ca n’t ever be removed . "
Of course , hard knocks is nothing new to the members of Philadelphia ’s urban horsemanship residential district . For more than 100 years , Black cowboy and cowgirls have shown big cleverness in navigate racialism and classism to conserve the tradition that were turn over down to them by their ascendent .
Whatever the hereafter hold for Fletcher Street ’s urban cowpuncher , the impingement of this vibrant counter - ethnic motion can not be erased from the Page of chronicle nor from the transformed lives that have emerge from this close - crumple residential area . As the film ’s mantra goes , “ Home is n’t a place , it ’s fam . ”
