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BWOPA Celebrates 50th Anniversary with Signature Leadership Summit, Oct. 27-28

Published

6 years ago

October 19, 2018

Black Women Organized for Political Action, or BWOPA, started in 1968, when about 200 Black women throughout the Bay Area worked to get Ronald V. Dellums elected to Congress. At the time, they were called “Bay Area Women for Dellums.”

This year, they celebrate their 50th anniversary by hosting their signature leadership empowerment summit “Mobilizing for Power to Sustain Our Legacy” Saturday, Oct. 27 at the Intercontinental Hotel in San Francisco.

The original members Alfreda Abbott, Margaret Amoureaux, Belva Davis, Ruth Hagwood-Webb, Aileen Hernandez, Ella Hill Hutch, Mary Jane Johnson, Dorothy Pitts, Teola Sanders, Frances Taylor and Dezie Woods-Jones, continued to meet and work on other political issues after the election.
A few years later, they put out a call for women interested in political action, and over 350 women convened at what was then the Bay Area’s Black Culture Center, “The Rainbow Sign” in Berkeley.

Dezie Woods-Jones

Dezie Woods-Jones was the first president of the organization in 1970, and is now the state president. “Our mission is still primarily the same, but we have certainly expanded.”
Today, BWOPA is a statewide organization with a second non-profit agency, the Training Institute for Leadership Enrichment, to educate and prepare women who are interested in getting involved in public policy and leadership. They have also recently instituted the Dezie Woods-Jones Public Policy Fellowship Initiative.

“We’ve made great progress, but there’s still plenty to do,” Woods-Jones said. She said that lately, “everyone is talking about the power of the Black women’s vote—we’ve been saying that for 50 years.” She’s glad people are getting on board, and said that Black women have had consistently high percentages of their population getting out the vote for years. “We outvote any other group of people in this nation,” she said, but “we are the least represented locally, statewide, and nationally.”

She’s pleased that more women are running for office in California’s Central Valley cities like Stockton, Tracy, and Fresno, areas where women of color are even less represented than in major cities. But, she said, “it’s still so far from what we need. Kamala Harris is only the second African-American woman on the US Senate—that’s nothing to brag about.”
But BWOPA has had a major impact in unifying efforts statewide to bring about more equitable representation in government and policy.

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Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

Published

3 days ago

April 26, 2024

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To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

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Alameda County

DA Pamela Price Stands by Mom Who Lost Son to Gun Violence in Oakland

Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018.

Published

7 days ago

April 22, 2024

Oakland Post

District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones

Publisher’s note: Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018. The photo was too small for readers to see where the women were and what they were doing. Here we show Price and Jones as they complete a walk in memory of Scott. For more information and to contribute, please contact Carol Jones at 510-978-5517 at morefoundation.help@gmail.com. Courtesy photo.

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City Government

Vallejo Welcomes Interim City Manager Beverli Marshall

At Tuesday night’s Council meeting, the Vallejo City Council appointed Beverli Marshall as the interim city manager. Her tenure in the City Manager’s Office began today, Wednesday, April 10. Mayor Robert McConnell praised Marshall’s extensive background, noting her “wide breadth of experience in many areas that will assist the City and its citizens in understanding the complexity of the many issues that must be solved” in Vallejo.

Published

7 days ago

April 22, 2024

Oakland Post

Beverli Marshall began her first day with the City on April 10. ICMA image.

Special to The Post

At Tuesday night’s Council meeting, the Vallejo City Council appointed Beverli Marshall as the interim city manager. Her tenure in the City Manager’s Office began today, Wednesday, April 10.

Mayor Robert McConnell praised Marshall’s extensive background, noting her “wide breadth of experience in many areas that will assist the City and its citizens in understanding the complexity of the many issues that must be solved” in Vallejo.

Current City Manager Michael Malone, whose official departure is slated for April 18, expressed his well wishes. “I wish the City of Vallejo and Interim City Manager Marshall all the best in moving forward on the progress we’ve made to improve service to residents.” Malone expressed his hope that the staff and Council will work closely with ICM Marshall to “ensure success and prosperity for the City.”

According to the Vallejo Sun, Malone stepped into the role of interim city manager in 2021 and became permanent in 2022. Previously, Malone served as the city’s water director and decided to retire from city service e at the end of his contract which is April 18.

“I hope the excellent work of City staff will continue for years to come in Vallejo,” he said. “However, recent developments have led me to this decision to announce my retirement.”

When Malone was appointed, Vallejo was awash in scandals involving the housing division and the police department. A third of the city’s jobs went unfilled during most of his tenure, making for a rocky road for getting things done, the Vallejo Sun reported.

At last night’s council meeting, McConnell explained the selection process, highlighting the council’s confidence in achieving positive outcomes through a collaborative effort, and said this afternoon, “The Council is confident that by working closely together, positive results will be obtained.”

While the search for a permanent city manager is ongoing, an announcement is expected in the coming months.

On behalf of the City Council, Mayor McConnell extended gratitude to the staff, citizen groups, and recruitment firm.

“The Council wishes to thank the staff, the citizens’ group, and the recruitment firm for their diligent work and careful consideration for the selection of what is possibly the most important decision a Council can make on behalf of the betterment of our City,” McConnell said.

The Vallejo Sun contributed to this report.