Oakland Black Cowboy Association

The Oakland Black Cowboy Association is a nonprofit organization based in the West Oakland neighborhood of Oakland with the goal of honoring the history of Black cowboys. It holds the annual Oakland Black Cowboy Parade and Festival.

Oakland Black Cowboy Association
Formation1970s
FounderLonnie Scoggins/Booker Emery
HeadquartersOakland, California
Websitehttp://www.blackcowboyassociation.org

History

In the 1960s and 70s, before the association formally organized, Booker Emery rode his horse around Oakland and gathered friends who rode with him, drawing positive attention from people on the street.[1]

OBCA gives its inception date as 1974.[2] The first Oakland Black Cowboy Parade was held in 1975 as part of Oakland Museum's exhibit "Blacks in the West." In 1976, OBCA was officially founded under the parent organization Blacks Unified to Motivate Progress to help plan for the next parade, along with business group Oakland Traders. OBCA's first grand marshal was former cowboy Lonnie Scoggins, who is sometimes noted as the group's founder in place of Booker Emery. The OBCA has funded and planned the parade since 1977.[3][4]

Mission and activities
Two Black men in western wear, one on a bay horse. A black horse in the background. They are in a park.
Participants in the 2022 Oakland Black Cowboy Parade and Festival

The mission of the OBCA is "educate all the citizens of Oakland and the Bay Area about the role played by Black cowboys and other pioneers in the settling of the American West.”[3] Besides holding the parade and festival, the OBCA also attends various community events and runs activities with Oakland's Parks, Recreation and Youth Development agency. Members of the OBCA give presentations at schools and church events.[4] They have also participated in census outreach.[5]

The Oakland Black Cowboy Parade and Festival is held the first weekend of October in DeFremery Park.[6] The parade has OBCA members and young people riding horses in unison and dancing with their horses.[7] As examples, the 2018 and 2019 parades also included drill teams from local high schools and colleges, square dancing groups, a Buffalo Soldiers reenactment group from Seattle, a group of Hispanic riders from San Jose, Girl Scouts, and circus groups.[8][9]

Legacy

The Oakland Black Cowboy Association's records are held at the African American Museum and Library at Oakland.[3] Ismael Reed briefly writes about the OBCA and parade in his book Blues City: A Walk in Oakland.[10] In 2021, a short documentary by James Manson and John Gamiño about the OBCA and its longtime president Wilbert Freeman McAlister was released.[6][11]

References
  1. Robertson, Michelle (2021-11-08). "At 80 years old, this Black Oakland cowboy keeps riding on". SF Gate. Retrieved 2022-03-08.
  2. Li, Roland (2022-10-01). "Black Cowboy Association festival draws hundreds in West Oakland". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2022-10-02.
  3. Heyliger, Sean (2013). "Guide to the Oakland Black Cowboy Association Records". Online Archive of California. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
  4. Rasilla, Azucena (October 7, 2019). "Oakland's Black Cowboy Association Rides Into an Uncertain Future". The Bold Italic. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
  5. Wolffe, Kate (September 17, 2020). "Oakland's Black Cowboy Association Wants You to Fill Out the Census". KQED. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
  6. Rasilla, Azucena (September 30, 2021). "Film about Oakland Black Cowboys leader debuts at Eli's Mile High Club". The Oaklandside. Retrieved March 6, 2022.
  7. Jeong Perry, Alyssa (2017-10-08). "A New Generation of Black Cowboys Is Born in West Oakland". KQED. Retrieved 2022-03-08.
  8. "Black Cowboy Association Holds 44th Annual Parade Festival in West Oakland | Post News Group". Post News Group. 2018-10-17. Retrieved 2022-03-08.
  9. Chavez, Ray (2019-10-05). "Photos: 45th Annual Black Cowboy Parade". The Mercury News. Retrieved 2022-03-08.
  10. Reed, Ishmael (2007-12-18). Blues City: A Walk in Oakland. Crown. ISBN 978-0-307-41994-1.
  11. Voynovskaya, Nastia (September 29, 2021). "A New Doc Shows How Oakland's Black Cowboys Keep History Alive". KQED. Retrieved March 6, 2022.


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