DeFord Bailey was a black harmonica player who is now in the Country Music Hall of Fame. At one point he was the only black person in the Hall other than Charley Pride… I’m not sure if that’s still the case.
Two more black singers who enjoyed some country success are Stoney Edwards (“Hank and Lefty Raised My Country Soul”) and Big Al Downing.
As I noted in another thread, the accusation is always quick to be leveled that white artists “ripped off” jazz and blues influences from blacks. What’s less talked about is that the bluesmen of the 20s/30s/40s were also huge country music fans. Most of them listened to the Grand Ole Opry religiously, and incorporated the country songs of the day into their own repertoires.
Howlin’ Wolf (IMHO the greatest blues artist of all time) freely admitted that his trademark “wolf howl” was influenced by his love for Jimmie Rodgers’ yodeling.