Hundreds turn up at ‘BBQing While Black’ event in Oakland

OAKLAND (AP) — Hundreds of people gathered for a weekend cookout in Oakland, California dubbed “BBQing While Black.” It is the latest response to a white woman’s now infamous call to police to report African Americans barbecuing at a public park.

The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the festival-like event Sunday on the shores of Lake Merritt was organized to rally against racism. Music played and vendors cooked up racks of ribs, sausages and chicken.

Three Sundays earlier at the same site, an unidentified woman called 911 to report a family using a charcoal barbecue.

A video posted on social media by an onlooker sparked a national conversation about racism.

The woman has been parodied on Saturday Night Live and the incident has become a social media meme with the hashtag #BBQBecky.