2018 BWOPA Turns 50!
BWOPA TURNS 50
Stay tuned for our 2018 calendar of celebratory events!
Founded in 1968 by 12 politically active women from various Bay Area cities under the leadership of San Francisco community leader Edith M. Austin, it was Paul Cobb, political activist, running for Oakland City Council, who labeled the group Women Organized for Political Action.
BWOPA's founding member, former Oakland Vice Mayor and California State President Hon. Dezie Woods Jones reigns over eight (8) chapters throughout California today. Surviving founding members of the 12 also include former Oakland School Board member Hon. Alfreda Abbott and renowned TV Journalist Belva Davis. Founding members in memoriam are Margaret Amoureaux, Ruth Hagwood-Webb, Aileen Hernandez, Ella Hill Hutch, Mary Jane Johnson, Dorothy Pitts, Teola Sanders and Frances Taylor.
Today BWOPA still asserts everything which affects the quality of life is in most ways political. On this tenet, BWOPA’s primary goal is to educate, train, and involve as many African American women as possible in the political process.
BWOPA's work is accomplished through our main organization BWOPA, our Training Institute for Leadership Enrichment (TILE), and our political action committee (PAC). BWOPA commitment to addressing those core issues which adversely affect the African American community fall within the realm of Health, Education, Criminal Justice and Economic Security.
Interested in learning more about our 50th Anniversary celebratory events and serving as a partner, email [email protected] to request a sponsorship package.
BE A BWOPA GIRL: It's BWOPA membership season and we welcome join one of our eight chapters. CLICK HERE TO JOIN BWOPA Today!
BWOPA's mission is to activate, motivate, promote, support, and educate African-American women about the policy making process, encourage involvement, and to affirm our commitment to, and solving of, those problems affecting the African-American community.
BWOPA's purpose is to:
- Provide leadership, training and mentoring to insure participation in the political process; (TILE)
- Developing long-range strategies to insure representation of African Americans within the political spectrum.
- Articulate our collective positions on issues affecting African Americans;
- Develop collaborative linkages with other political organizations; and
- Preserve and chronicle the political experience of African American women in California.