By Aqueila M. Lewis
Photos by Z'ma Wyatt

For the past 33 years on the first Saturday in October, the city of Oakland has joined black cowboys and cowgirls from the Oakland Black Cowboy Association to celebrate and honor the rich history of blacks who helped settle the American West. This year, the family-centered event featured a mixture of country western, Zydeco and hip-hop music to appeal to the diverse styles of the growing audience.

   The events kicked-off on Saturday at 10 a.m. with a parade beginning at DeFremery Park in West Oakland and traveling downtown to the Frank Ogawa Building and back to the park for an afternoon of festivities. Later that night, community members gathered at the West Oakland Senior Center to listen and dance to country and Zydeco music led by Andre Thierry and Zydeco Magic.
    The Oakland Black Cowboy Association (OBCA) is best known as the host of the Black Cowboy Parade and Festival, the only parade and celebration of its kind in the U.S.

    “We are a nonprofit organization that is making a statement that says, ‘Yes, we too had a part in the cowboys of the West,’” said OBCA President Wilbur McAlaster, host of this year’s parade. “This is one of our biggest events other than Juneteenth where we cowboys and cowgirls volunteer our time and service to give free horse and pony rides to the children in the community and educate communities about cowboy history.”
    “As a kid growing up in Louisiana, I didn’t know there were black cowboys until I went to high school and college,” said Alvin Brooks, OBCA director of education and parade co-host. “When we went to the movies, we saw actors like John Wayne, so we didn’t know that there were real black cowboys. As I got older and took what they called Negro history, [I] then discovered that blacks played an important role in settling the West.”
    Alvin noted that when he was a boy, some of his teachers did not know about cowboy history, and he now wants to make sure that people are educated.
    As McAlaster and Brooks entertained Saturday’s crowd with samples of Zydeco dance steps, Acts Full Gospel Bishop Bob Jackson made his entrance as the parade’s grand marshal. Jackson, riding on a black stallion, led the parade to Frank Ogawa Plaza, where parade participants were judged by Ann Nutt, secretary of OBCA, Albert “Randy” Harris and actor Earl Crudup.
    A moment of silence for deceased horseless cowboys Samuel Vic and Joe Killer was observed by parade participants, who included Oakland City Auditor Courtney Ruby and members of Acts Full Gospel Church, the Oakland Chamber of Commerce, Castlemont color guard and drill teams, Fremont and Skyline high school, Cub Scouts of San Francisco and San Leandro, Oakland Military Institute College Preparatory, Northern Cal Soul Strutters and others.
    The OBCA raised over $3,000 to put on the event, and organizers hope the dance and featured country western singer Miko Marks generates more money to educate audiences even further about the history of black cowboys. Marks is now releasing her second album, and McAlaster said he has plans “to make Ms. Marks the first parade queen.”
    North African and cowboy Ben Hodges, one of the group’s original members, found out about the Oakland Black Cowboys Association 33 years ago from his friend Book Emery, also known as “Bump.” “We were the cowboys or drovers that drove the cattle,” he said. “We were the pioneers. I love it. I love my adopted country and the things I did for it and still do.”
    Hodges now owns a ranch with cows and thoroughbreds. He said he encourages youth to go to the library read about the cowboys and study their history, because “people without history are less of a people and don’t have anything to show for it.”
    The Oakland Black Cowboys Association is now accepting applications. Both women and men are encouraged to apply. For more information, visit www.blackcowboyassociation. org.

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