Black Women Organized for Political Action (BWOPA) is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit political advocacy organization with the goal of motivating and supporting Black women in American politics. It was founded in 1968 in California after branching off from the Bay Area Women for Dellums, a group of politically active women who fundraised for Ron Dellums' run for congressional office. They encourage African American women to be more involved in politics so that action can be taken to address their oppressions. The organization focuses on the intersectionality of issues pertaining to race and gender by encouraging African American women to become involved in the political process. Dezie Woods-Jones was elected president of the organization in 1970.
The group that became Black Women Organized for Political Action formed in 1968 after expanding from a smaller group called the Bay Area Women for Dellums or "Dames for Dellums". The group was formed by 12 women in the San Francisco Bay Area, including co-founder Aileen Hernandez. Until 1970, the group functioned under co-chairs. In 1970, they elected their first president, Dezie Woods-Jones, who had been a community activist working to address issues concerning education, poverty, and women's empowerment. In 1971, the group officially became Black Women Organized for Political Action.
BWOPA's early meetings were held at The Rainbow Sign, an African American community center in Berkeley, California. Along with campaigning for Ron Dellums, they contributed to Warren Widener's successful campaign for mayor of Berkeley in 1971. In 1973, some women involved in BWOPA, including Hernandez and Ernestine Eckstein, formed a more radical Black feminist group, Black Women Organized for Action (BWOA), to focus on Black women's concerns rather than fundraising for men running for office.
BWOPA contributed to the elections of several women who were the first African American women representatives in their areas. Ella Hill Hutch was a charter member of Black Women Organized for Political Action. BWOPA supported the election of Maxine Waters to the California State Assembly in 1976. Kamala Harris was a BWOPA chapter member in the 1990s, and the organization supported her run for San Francisco district attorney in 2003.
Archival materials related to BWOPA are held in the collections of the African American Museum and Library at Oakland. In 2025, Oakland mayor Barbara Lee honored Woods-Jones for decades of leadership for BWOPA.
BWOPA provides leadership training to help women run for political office in a program called Training Institute for Leadership Enrichment (TILE). It also runs the Dezie Woods Jones (DWJ) Public Policy leadership program, a training program for policy advocates.
The organization focuses on advocacy for health, education, criminal justice, and economic security: