Was The Man Behind 'The Lone Ranger's' Mask A Black Man?

Because of my recent piece regarding The Great Gatsby which opens this week, and the theory, according to one scholar, that Gatsby in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s book was actually a black man passing for white (read HERE), I’m reminded of another major summer blockbuster and the secret history behind it, that I recall reading about a few years ago.

I’m talking about the Jerry Bruckheimer produced new version of The Lone Ranger, with the very bland as to be practically nonexistent Armie Hammer as the Ranger, and the very charismatic, no-doubt-is-going-to-steal-the-film Johnny Depp, as his trusted Indian sidekick Tonto.

But was the Lone Ranger actually based on the exploits of a real life black hero? The evidence points to a resounding yes.

That person was Bass Reeves (the gent pictured above with one helluva mustache) who, not surprisingly, was written out, or purposely overlooked in histories of the West, by historians, until recently, and who was the subject of a long overdue book written a few years years ago by Art Burton, titled Black Gun, Silver Star: The Life and Legend of Frontier Marshal Bass Reeves.

Naturally born a slave in 1838, Reeves’ master brought him along as his personal servant when he went off to fight with the Confederate Army, during the Civil War. And seeing an opportunity when it presented itself, Reeves escaped for freedom after, reportedly, beating up his master following an argument over a card game.

Reeves fled to the then Indian Territory (which later became the state of Oklahoma) and lived among the Seminole and Creek Indians. After the war, he married and eventually fathered ten children.

He became a Deputy U.S. Marshall working in Arkansas and the Indian Territory (the first black one ever) when the existing U.S. Marshall, James Fagan, who himself was a former Confederate Army officer, needed deputies to establish law and order in the region, and had heard about Reeves, who knew the area well and could speak several Indian languages. Fagan made him a deputy.


[link to blogs.indiewire.com]