Carrying the Whole Black Race: Woody Strode, John Ford,
and the Trials of Blackness
Woody Strode, in speaking of his role in the John Ford western, Sergeant Rutledge,
says the following: “You never seen a Negro come off a mountain like John Wayne before. I
had the greatest Glory Hallelujah ride across the Pecos R iver. . . And I did it myself. I carried
the whole black race across that river” (McBride 610). Strode experienced a long career as an
actor, working with some of film’s most heralded directors, such as John Ford, Stanley Kubrick,
Lewis Milestone, and Sergio Leone. Yet Strode’s stature as an actor has been categorized by
some as that of a former athlete, whose roles catered to negative racial stereotypes. However,
during this, the 100th anniversary of Strode’s birth in 1914, it is time that that his career and his
performances be reevaluated, particularly his roles in the films of John Ford. Strode worked in
four of John Ford’s films, and theirs was a close and complex relationship; they were friends
for life. Thus, a close examination of his performances in Ford’s Sergeant Rutledge and The
Man Who Shot Liberty Valence will show not a stereotypical portrayal of black masculinity, but
an incisive interrogation of racial injustice and stereotypes. Examining these films and the
relationship of these two men opens up a needed discussion about the status of Strode as an
important yet neglected black actor whose roles in a number of films serve to critique and
attack historical racism. The nature of this critique is rooted in a trusting friendship between the
men, a friendship which showcased, both on the screen and in real-life, a cross-racial
collaboration that was unique, enduring, and worthy of more critical attention.
In his work, Toms, Coons, Mulattoes, Mammies, and Bucks: An Interpretive History of
Blacks in American Films, Donald Bogle says this about the actor: “Strode had his most
serious (and best) role in John Ford’s Sergeant Rutledge ( 1 9 6 0 ).... But Ford’s epic was an
exception to the general run of movies Strode worked in. In subsequent films such as
Spartacus (1960), The Last Voyage (1960), The Sins o f Rachel Cade (1961), Two Rode
Together (1961), The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962), The Professionals (1967), and
Shalako (1968), Woody Strode found himself again bare-chested with muscles bulging and
teeth gleaming” (186). With these words, Bogle consigns Strode to the dungeon of the black
buck. Moreover, rather than closely addressing the roles Strode played in these films, Bogle
simply labels Strode’s career as one which can be relegated to the realm of stereotype. Earlier,
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