Oakland Black Cowboy Association's annual parade and festival in jeopardy
Oakland Black Cowboy Annual Parade & Festival in jeopardy due to financial hardship
The Oakland Black Cowboy Association is celebrating its 51rst anniversary, but its annual festival & parade is in jeopardy. The nonprofit's leadership says it is scrambling to come up with the funds to put on the event after the group's former president allegedly mismanaged funds. It has started an online fundraiser for the event which is scheduled for October 4th.
OAKLAND, Calif. - The Oakland Black Cowboy Association, a legacy nonprofit, said it's in jeopardy of not being able to hold its annual parade and festival due to financial problems.
With the gathering scheduled just weeks away, the all-volunteer organization is scrambling to put on this community event.
The Black Cowboy Association:
The nonprofit and the event celebrate the role of Black Americans blazing the wagon trails from the East Coast to the West Coast.
The organization is also celebrating its 51st anniversary.
The parade and festival have been an annual event for decades. In 1987, 38 years ago, KTVU's own Dennis Richmond spoke at the annual event.
The group's leaders said they're now trying to raise money to pay for permits and other expenses to put on the gathering.
They said it's important to preserve cultural pride and serve the community.
"That's the most important thing to us. Keeping our parade going and keeping our organization going right now, we're in a hardship," said Royland Bailey, president of the Oakland Black Cowboy Association.
Big picture view:
The annual gathering is scheduled to take place in a little over a month at Defremery Park in West Oakland.
But the group said its former president allegedly mismanaged funds and now the legacy association's entire budget of $20,000 is gone.
Bailey and the treasurer Wilbert McAlister refuse to give up the legacy of educating people young and old about the history of Black cowboys, a term used during slavery when cowboys referred to the Black people who tended to cows.
The group and its events have educated and entertained people in the Bay Area for decades.
"Get out and do something. Get out and love an animal. Don't be sitting in the house all day," said Bailey.
McAlister said it was during the 1980's when he was an adult, that he saw and learned about Black cowboys for the first time.
"One day in East Oakland, I saw a Black man on a horse and Black women. And I was amazed," said McAlister.
Now, the Oakland Black Cowboy Association want to bring that same amazement and knowledge to the community for generations to come. They've started an online fundraiser to recoup their losses.
They're doing all they can to hold their annual parade and festival.
Amber Lee is a reporter with KTVU. Email Amber at Amber.Lee@Fox.com or text/leave a message at 510-599-3922. Follow her on Facebook @AmberKTVU, Instagram @AmberKTVU or Twitter @AmberKTVU