Is 'Concrete Cowboy' based on a true story? Here's all you need to know about film's plot

Directed by Ricky Staub, Netflix’s American western drama film Concrete Cowboy released on April 2, 2021. Ever since the film released, viewers are wondering if the film is based on a real-life story. For those uninitiated, the film Concrete Cowboy is based on the novel Ghetto Cowboy by Greg Neri. The film follows a fictionalization of the Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club and urban African-American horseriding culture in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Is Concrete Cowboy a true story?

Starring actors Idris Elba, Caleb McLaughlin, Jharrel Jerome, Byron Bowers, Lorraine Toussaint and Clifford Smith, the film was first premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2020. Concrete Cowboy plot follows a 15-year old Cole, portrayed by Stranger Things' Caleb McLaughin, who is sent to live with his father Harp, essayed by Idris Elba. His father is a leader of the Fletcher Street Stables community in Philadelphia. Initially, Cole is vexed at the thought of living with horses. And moreover, he's actually set up with a horse in the same room he sleeps. As the story progresses, Cole grows into a more mature person when he spends time with the horses and learns a lot from them. 

Although the film is a fictional story, the director managed to focus on the life of some real-life riders. He also cast Jamil Prattis, who’s a real-life rider himself. In the film, Jamil is seen as a wheel-chair bound Paris who teaches Cole how to clean stalls. The story starts with Cole exhausting his mother with his mischiefs and is thus sent out to live with his father. As the story progresses, it focuses more on the life of horse riders instead of focusing on Cole’s story of growth and maturity.

The story also focuses on the world of Black urban cowboys who lived in Philadelphia, who were enslaved by Americans. The characters of the film are live-action counterparts of the fictional novel. The film also focuses on the part where the group is threatened to shut down, by the city government, and that is based on a true story.

(Image Source: Still from the film Concrete Cowboy)