Children and parents lined the sidewalks of DeFremery Park in West Oakland this weekend to catch a glimpse of something that’s not an everyday sight: black cowboys prancing on their horses down the streets.

It was the 43rd annual Oakland Black Cowboy Parade and Festival, hosted by the Oakland Black Cowboy Association (OBCA).

Even though the event is in its fourth decade, not many know that up to one in four cowboys who helped settle the Wild West was black.

Wilbert McAlister is the current president of the association. He believes it's because that part of history isn’t in textbooks.

“You know, after slavery, they [black cowboys] started bringing cattle out towards the West,” he said. “They had cowboys that knew how to ride and we were good at it.”