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

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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 May 21 – 27, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of May 21 – 27, 2025

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Remembering George Floyd

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OP-ED: Oregon Bill Threatens the Future of Black Owned Newspapers and Community Journalism

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Nearly half of Oregon’s media outlets are now owned by national conglomerates with no lasting investment in local communities. According to an OPB analysis, Oregon has lost more than 90 news jobs (and counting) in the past five years. These were reporters, editors and photographers covering school boards, investigating corruption and telling community stories, until their jobs were cut by out-of-state corporations.

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By Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr.
President and CEO, National Newspaper Publishers Association

For decades, The Skanner newspaper in Portland, the Portland Observer, and the Portland Medium have served Portland, Oregon’s Black community and others with a vital purpose: to inform, uplift and empower. But legislation now moving through the Oregon Legislature threatens these community news institutions—and others like them.

As President and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), which represents more than 255 Black-owned media outlets across the United States—including historic publications like The Skanner, Portland Observer, and the Portland Medium—l believe that some Oregon lawmakers would do more harm than good for local journalism and community-owned publications they are hoping to protect.

Oregon Senate Bill 686 would require large digital platforms such as Google and Meta to pay for linking to news content. The goal is to bring desperately needed support to local newsrooms. However, the approach, while well-intentioned, puts smaller, community-based publications at a future severe financial risk.

We need to ask – will these payments paid by tech companies benefit the journalists and outlets that need them most? Nearly half of Oregon’s media outlets are now owned by national conglomerates with no lasting investment in local communities. According to an OPB analysis, Oregon has lost more than 90 news jobs (and counting) in the past five years. These were reporters, editors, and photographers covering school boards, investigating corruption, and telling community stories, until their jobs were cut by out-of-state corporations.

Legislation that sends money to these national conglomerate owners—without the right safeguards to protect independent and community-based outlets—rewards the forces that caused this inequitable crisis in the first place. A just and inclusive policy must guarantee that support flows to the front lines of local journalism and not to the boardrooms of large national media corporations.

The Black Press exists to fill in the gaps left by larger newsrooms. Our reporters are trusted messengers. Our outlets serve as forums for civic engagement, accountability and cultural pride. We also increasingly rely on our digital platforms to reach our audiences, especially younger generations—where they are.

We are fervently asking Oregon lawmakers to take a step back and engage in meaningful dialogue with those most affected: community publishers, small and independent outlets and the readers we serve. The Skanner, The Portland Observer, and The Portland Medium do not have national corporate parents or large investors. And they, like many smaller, community-trusted outlets, rely on traffic from search engines and social media to boost advertising revenue, drive subscriptions, and raise awareness.

Let’s work together to build a better future for Black-owned newspapers and community journalism that is fair, local,l and representative of all Oregonians.

Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., President & CEO, National Newspaper Publishers Association

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