CreativeMornings Milwaukee Brings Milwaukee’s Black Cowboys to a Morning Audience

Free community panel celebrates Milwaukee’s local Black cowboy heritage ahead of documentary premiere

MILWAUKEE, WI — CreativeMornings Milwaukee invites the community to saddle up for a free breakfast panel featuring eight of Milwaukee’s Black cowboys on Friday, March 20, 2026, from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. at The Missing Peace, 3248 W Brown Street, Milwaukee, WI 53208. The event is free and open to the public.

The panel — partially a recurring monthly lecture series, and partially a preview event for the upcoming documentary Forged by Steele — will bring together riders, organizers and community leaders from Milwaukee’s Buffalo Soldiers & Silverado Trail Riders to share how horsemanship has shaped their lives and what they are doing to open the door to cowboy culture for the next generation.

About the Event

Panelists Brandon Hobson, Elijah “E” Fife, James Jones, Kevin Nichols, Mack Kirksey, Marnix “Doc” Stamps, Matthew Finnie and Percy Evans will discuss how cowboy culture has built character, leadership and community pride — and how they are working to expand access to equine experiences for youth and adults across Milwaukee and Wisconsin.

For many of Milwaukee’s Black cowboys, riding is far more than a hobby — it is a way of life that deepens their roots and strengthens the communities they serve.

The event aligns with CreativeMornings’ March global theme of Local, chosen by its Santos, Brazil chapter. The theme, rooted in the Portuguese sense of belonging to a place, asks how where we are from defines who we are, and how community is built not on screens, but in neighborhoods.

About Forged by Steele

The CreativeMornings Milwaukee cowboy panel serves as a preview for Forged by Steele, a new documentary by Milwaukee filmmaker Natalie Derr that spotlights the little-known history of Black cowboys and the legacy of the Black Cowboys & Buffalo Soldiers Association in Milwaukee.

The film follows Issac Steele, a third-generation Black cowboy and founder and president of the Milwaukee chapter, and Kevin Nichols, who is carrying that legacy forward.

Forged by Steele premieres on Sunday, March 29, 2026 at 3:00 p.m. FREE at the Oriental Theatre in Milwaukee. Tickets are available at this link:(https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSee6T6k32UAzSMV2qvEfD-PKMNfQyVgpUnrsMQ94yaGqnrpGQ/viewform)

Event Details

Date: Friday, March 20, 2026
Time: 8:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
Location: The Missing Peace | 3248 W Brown Street, Milwaukee, WI 53208
Admission: Free!
RSVP: creativemornings.com/talks/milwaukee-black-cowboys-local

About CreativeMornings

CreativeMornings is a global, volunteer-led breakfast lecture series designed for the creative community. Founded by Tina Roth-Eisenberg in New York City in 2008, it now hosts free monthly events in over 200 cities worldwide — providing an accessible space for designers, entrepreneurs, artists and other creative professionals to connect, find inspiration and build community.

The CreativeMornings Milwaukee chapter has been active since 2014. With CreativeMornings MKE, we foster Milwaukee’s diverse creative community through boundary-breaking events at unique venues. Our free monthly Friday gatherings aim to ignite fresh perspectives, fostering an inclusive, vibrant space with engaging speakers. We champion diverse voices, inspire innovative thinking and forge meaningful connections, enriching personal and professional landscapes. By transcending barriers, exploring new neighborhoods and nurturing creativity, we unite neighborhoods and harmonize voices, propelling our city forward in a collective spirit of creativity and inclusivity.