Town and community · added September 14, 2026
Oklahoma Negro Band Festival, 1947
Evidence note · high confidenceWhat the evidence supports
May 8–9 event; a separate Enid account reports about 800 musicians and about 15 bands.
Limits and open questions
Do not infer 15 unique Oklahoma high-school groups or a founding year. Breaux sole/massed-conductor claim is not accepted: Enid OCR instead names Gatlin in the guest-conductor passage; inspect scan.
Confidence detail: high. Evidence notes are not a count of distinct ensembles.
Sources
Oklahoma Eagle, May 15, 1947, p. 1
Enid Events, May 15, 1947, p. 3