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The Sunlit Project and UNUM Magazine present HER JOURNEY, a narratology mapping the unique and universally-shared experiences of women’s extraordinary journeys.
“This Sunlit Project developed during the worldwide pandemic over my kitchen table, but the idea of mapping women’s journeys began with my own, as a migratory mother, driving a thousand miles westward. I encountered commonalities and differences within the Hero’s Journey, a mythologically-informed template that identifies the classic elements of a “journey” - a call to something more, obstacles, a supreme ordeal, transformation and more - but it overwhelmingly centers a male archetype. Thus, HER JOURNEY seeks to lift the “her” in the Hero’s Journey and identify what makes it uniquely and universally female.”
-Sun Cooper
She’s a mother to a daughter named Genesis. She’s a skilled equestrian and the founder and owner of Mulatto Meadows. She prefers to go by Bri. But chances are, you already know Brianna Noble as the famed horsewoman of the Black Lives Matter protest. Images of her and her horse became iconic worldwide the day she rode through the streets of Oakland, California, in protest of George Floyd’s murder – a handmade cardboard sign with “Black Lives Matter” written in Sharpie swinging from her saddle. Together, Bri and Dapper Dan – a 17-hands-tall horse she trained as a “bombproof” mount – strike an imposing masthead to the anti-racism movement.
Bri’s journey began long before the protest; but powerful journeys aren’t always marked in miles or years. Sometimes they arise in an hour of supreme ordeal – then surge forward wildly from a fixed, historic moment. Bri’s ride down a city street turned out to be the journey of a lifetime.
SC: Before the images of you and Dapper Dan signaled a powerful symbol of this movement and the overnight media renown launched you toward fulfilling a long-held vision, when did you experience a call to something more? Can you describe that scene, that moment, that feeling?
BN: When I watched the murder of George Floyd in bed with my husband the night before the protest, I was angered and felt as though I had to do something. Just being angry was not enough.
Image by Eli Zaturanski
A supreme ordeal is often a moment of high struggle, moral jeopardy, or a critical life-or-death moment. In a time of pandemic, the death of George Floyd has catalyzed a movement that The New York Times stated “might be the largest movement in U.S. history.” (July, 2020) The supreme ordeal for Black communities began far, far too long before May 2020; but this point in time, in all of its political and social complexities, marks a significant shift toward transformation.
When I watched the murder of George Floyd in bed with my husband the night before the protest, I was angered and felt as though I had to do something. Just being angry was not enough.
It is upon this canvas that Bri’s own journey as a horsewoman – making her way through a predominantly white, competitive, and often exclusive horse culture – marks one that has had to surmount its own obstacles. Before I hear from Bri, somewhere between her interviews with ABC News and Vogue, I’ve read multiple accounts about some of her experiences, in her own words. She once organized a youth town hall forum on police brutality when she was 15. Her big sister is an officer with the San Francisco Police Department, and Bri has shared how her sister is working for change, too. They didn’t have money growing up, but they used to spend summers at the barn where Bri began dreaming about being the first African American woman to show-jump in the Olympics.
SC: In your own journey, how have obstacles or resistance transformed you? What have you had to overcome? How has your personal protest been informed by your own life experiences?
BN: I’ve dealt with racism, being hungry, walked down the street with holes in my shoes, and worked two jobs in my quest to attain as much experience and knowledge about horses as I could. Horses have taught me what a hard, honest day’s work is. Horses have always been a driving, motivating force in my life. I feel like they give me the power to conquer anything. And that transfers to many different avenues of my life … But I really didn’t have much of an idea that Black people rode horses until I was older.
SC: Not many know that the earliest cowboys in American were people of color, and this historic obscurity has undoubtedly shaped the current horse culture. According to the Smithsonian, “historians estimate that one in four cowboys were Black.” Was this history accessible to you growing up in the equestrian world? What or who inspired you to map a path forward as a Black woman rider?
BN: Aside from one or two here or there at a parade, my first experience seeing Black cowboys and gaining an interest in this history came after my parents took me to the Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo – an all Black rodeo – as I was coming into my early teens. I had never seen so many Black people together like that in my life, and I remember having so much fun winning the calf undecorating game (in which they would invite the kids of the audience to attempt to pull a ribbon from a calf’s tail). It was cool for me to learn how deep the culture runs in other places in the country. I never thought about “mapping a path forward as a Black woman” as a kid. Everything has always been about the love of horses for me. All I ever wanted to do was do right by the horse, and to learn to be the best horsewoman I could be. My Blackness became more apparent in the horse world the longer I was in it. There are many stories I could tell about the racism that’s often a part of barn culture.”
SC: You’ve mentioned how horses offer a transcendent, universal language for us to listen to. What do you feel horses teach us?
BN: Horses are amazing creatures. They put up mirrors to our souls and allow us to view ourselves in a nonjudgmental, ever-forgiving way.
SC: Horsewoman to horsewoman, I think about how a certain archetype exists for women on horses. Lady Godiva is a symbol of protest, as the nobleman’s wife who rode naked through the town to address oppression in her community. Joan of Arc is a symbol of French unity and struggle, as a maiden portrayed in armor head-to-toe, leading an army. In the end, both of these women were sacrificed for their causes. How do you feel you relate or differ from these iconic women?
BN: I’m not quite sure, honestly. I haven't put much thought into how I relate to other people. My focus is doing what I love, and using what is my life and passion as a tool to inspire change within my community.
My Blackness became more apparent in the horse world the longer I was in it. There are many stories I could tell about the racism that’s often a part of barn culture.
Joan of Arc has been often quoted as saying, “I am not afraid. I was born to do this.” Bri has been modest about her life, her struggles, and her fame. Instead, she has amplified the moment, turning her opportunity into a more expansive one for others. A mirror, allowing us to see more.
SC: You’ve taken your moment of protest and transformed it into a collective opportunity, such as the community multiracial ride you led in June and your initiation of the Humble Project “to expand the accessibility of riding and horsemanship to communities historically excluded from the equestrian world.” Can you tell us why you chose the name Humble? How can women become allies and join you in this “ride?”
BN: Horses are humbling. They are creatures that are large, powerful, sometimes unpredictable, and often more than a little intimidating. Their size alone commands respect. There is something unnerving, something so mystifyingly intriguing about the horse – that an animal so proud and majestic would allow a comparatively feeble human to sit upon its back; not in rivalry but to share in its strength. They teach even the haughtiest that we must humble ourselves before them, and likewise, they to us. Our program focuses on helping provide opportunity to those that come from humble means. Look to our website for ways you can get involved!
Bri’s humility reinforces the truth that heroism might express itself through an individual but these acts often resonate because they reveal something bigger and more universal at work – a spirit, a transformation. Allyship is one way of supporting meaningful transformation. Though this collective work continues, in “The Hero’s Journey,” the narrative moves from transformation to homecoming. Brianna shares what this means for her personally: Unlike the former archetypes, a woman’s relationships and wellbeing should not be sacrificed for her cause. Instead, the things that give her life take precedence.
SC: Can you speak to what “returning home” is like for you? Whether after the protest or after a hard day’s work on the ranch, where do you find your rest and refueling?
BN: I don’t think my home is tied to one singular place or location. I feel at home when I am with my family – my partner Adolfo, my daughter Genesis, and our dog Goon. And I feel at home when I am on top of a good horse's back. Those are the things that give me life.
At the mention of her daughter, her interview comes full circle. The name Genesis is a potent one. New symbology attaches itself to the terms of mother, daughter, and genesis when they read across a greater canvas, across a collective of women who have responded to George Floyd’s call, across a movement calling for change. She’s a mother to a daughter named Genesis, an origin, something coming into being.
SC: What do you want to see “come into being” in the world for your daughter? What would you like your descendants to know or remember when they see these immortalized images of you and your horse in painted murals, fan art, magazines, libraries, and historic newscasts many years from now?
BN: I simply want my daughter to be able to learn about what racism was, not experience it herself. I would love for my image to be seen as an inspiration. For people to remember to find your passion, align it with a collective purpose, and that’s how we can all make change happen.
Find more info on Brianna at www.mulattomeadows.com/humble and support her Humble Project at the Humble GoFund or by direct contributions to her via PayPal at briannanoble@mulattomeadows.com, with the note “Humble Project donation.”
For more on Black equestrian heritage, recommended reading includes Fearless Mary: The True Adventures of Mary Fields, American Stagecoach Driver by Tami Charles and African American Women of the Old West by Tricia Martineau Wagner.
This feature is dedicated to Brianna’s daughter and the genesis of Black women making change happen.
About the author: Sun Cooper is a migratory mother, published author, and multicultural literary consultant. Her work and collaborations have appeared in People Magazine, Rolling Stone, National Geographic, Hill Lily, American Cowboy, Southern Writers, and Severine. With her amalgamation of Cherokee, French, Basque and American West ancestry, she identifies as a storyteller, mother, and sojourner who asks for the wisdom of ancient paths while migrating her own. You can find her at www.sunliterary.com/thesunlitproject.com