I grabbed a new Kindle library book titled Ghetto Cowboy by G. Neri. It's a children's book, but I didn't realize that when I checked it out. I read it anyway, and I'm glad that I did. Cole, the young protagonist, is shipped to from Detroit to Philadelphia by his desperate mother. She can't handle his increasingly delinquent ways, especially since (we learn toward the end of the book) she is struggling with depression. At age twelve, Cole is going to live with a father he has never known. Lucky for young Cole that Dad is a central figure in his neighborhood's horse riding club. That's the fiction.
Then Mr. Neri weaves in a lot of fact. He tells the story of the black cowboys and the riding clubs they established and maintained in Philadelphia. Though the names have been changed, it's pretty clear that Neri is telling the story of the Fletcher Street club. The details are all there from the city's desire to reclaim the land on which the stables sit, to the bogus charges of animal abuse, to the city's inspection right after the stables were damaged by a severe storm - right down to the dead horse lying near a mountain of manure.
Everything in the book turns out glowingly in the end for Cole and his parents. Back in the real world the future of the Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club is not so rosy. They have established themselves as a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, and they have a volunteer veterinarian who regularly tends to the horses' health needs. Photographer Martha Camarillo has raised awareness of the group through her book, Fletcher Street. http://www.amazon.com/Fletcher-Street-Martha-Camarillo/dp/1576873285 Fletcher Street is an oasis of peace in a crime ridden, gang infested area of Philadelphia, and the presence of the horses is given the credit for this. In spite of this, the city continues to apply pressure to close the stables.
So, read more about it: http://www.pennsylvaniaequestrian.com/news/urban-stable.php and check out the videos.
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