By Carla Thomas

BWOPA (Black Women Organized for Political Action) hosted the Ella Hill Hutch Dinner and Awards Ceremony at the Sequoyah Country Club in the East Oakland hills.

In honor of trailblazing activist Ella Hill Hutch, the event brought the Bay Area community together to celebrate BWOPA chapter leaders of excellence throughout the state on Nov. 9. “In Ella’s name we’re honoring community leaders,” said BWOPA founding member and state leader, Dezie Woods-Jones.

Hutch rose to prominence when she was the first African American woman elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in San Francisco in 1977. She served with Supervisor Harvey Milk who was assassinated by fellow Supervisor Dan White in 1978 and was reelected in 1980. She represented District 4, and later citywide, focusing on government-financed housing and public transportation.

Hutch started her career with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union for 25 years, then became more politically active concerning policy and political issues within San Francisco.

She served on the Democratic County Central Committee in 1966, the Fillmore Tenants Council, the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Board, and the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District.

Award recipients at the dinner included State Honoree Kelly Todd Griffin, Man of the Year Marc Philpart, and Special President’s Awardee Jotaka Eaddy.

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Chapter honorees included Champagne Brown, Richmond-Contra Costa; Dr. Flojuane Cofer, Sacramento; Dr. Venice Curry, Fresno-San Joaquin; Deborah Dickson, Solano-Napa; and the Honorable Rita Duncan, Hayward-South County.

Darlene Futrel, Los Angeles Region; Dr. Kyla Johnson-Trammell, Oakland-Berkeley; Dr. Saidah Leatutufu-Burch, San Francisco Peninsula; and Olga Rodriguez, Stockton-Tracy were also recognized as distinguished chapter honorees.

Award recipients spoke of their ability to have meaningful work with the ability to act as role models for the next generation.

“I’m grateful to work in my purpose, on purpose,” said Leatutufu-Burch, director of the Dream Keepers Initiative, which advances prosperity in San Francisco’s Black communities through strategic planning, development, and partnerships.

For the Honorable Rita Duncan, the recognition was humbling. “It’s really special to be honored by your own community and I do this work that is often challenging, because my granddaughters say I’m their role model.”

Duncan is the first African American to serve on the Oro Loma Sanitary District’s board of directors in 105 years. She is the chair of the Solid Waste Committee and the California Association of Sanitary Agencies (CASA) Federal Legislative Committee.

For their outstanding contributions to the community, BWOPA also honored Bruce Ajid, Armand Carr, Donald Frazier, Kevin Jenkins, Joseph Jones, Pastor B.T. Lewis, II, Timothy Simon, and Sam Tadesse.

Dezi Woods-Jones discussed the organization’s history and commended the honorees. Woods-Jones also celebrated her 82nd birthday and the entire audience joined in singing the traditional “Happy Birthday” song and the version created by Stevie Wonder.

Guests also enjoyed a cocktail hour and a 10-course buffet dinner. The Honorable Bill Riley, the Honorable Nate Miley, businesswoman Linda Richardson, and San Francisco American Businesswomen’s Association President Velma Landers were among the attendees.

BWOPA was created to activate, motivate, promote, support, and educate African American women about the political process. The organization encourages political involvement and problem solving to transform the African American community’s health, education, and economic outcomes. BWOPA is also focused on criminal justice reform.

As a statewide non-profit advocacy and membership organization, BWOPA’s Training Institute for Leadership Enrichment (TILE) program, prepares Black women to become representatives in local and national decision-making arenas to increase the number of Black women and allies in public leadership.

Through BWOPA-PAC the organization provides financial support, guidance and the endorsement of candidates throughout the state of California and beyond.

BWOPA announced that it will begin a training and development program for youth and young adults in college. The program will start in January and serve a range of girls from the ninth grade through college-aged students.

For more information, visit BWOPAtileLeads.org

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