Black Phoenix Organizing Collective (BPOC)

Background

The Black Phoenix Organizing Collective (BPOC) is a Black activist organization located in Phoenix, Arizona. It is focused on “building Black power” in Arizona for the “young, radical, queer, poor, families, formerly incarcerated, non-binary black folx, directly impacted by unjust systems.” ^{2 3}

BPOC was founded at the end of 2019 by Parris Wallace and her partner in response to the alleged lack of Black activist organizations in the Phoenix area. ¹ In 2020, BPOC conducted protests and rallies supporting defunding the police and offered bail resources to people who were arrested at Black Lives Matter events. ³

It joined protests calling for abolishing the police and investigating police misconduct against Black people in October 2020 along with BLM Pheonix Metro, the Mass Liberation Project, and the Puente Human Rights Movement. ⁴

Work Areas and Activism

Black Phoenix Organizing Collective (BPOC) supports abortion access and the decriminalization of sex work. It is a founding member of the Arizona Reproductive Justice Coalition, funded by pro-abortion advocacy group National Institute for Reproductive Health (NIRH). ^{5 6}

In March 2022, Arizona’s Reproductive Rights Coalition released a statement condemning former Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) for signing legislation supporting an abortion ban after 15 weeks of pregnancy. BPOC is a member of the coalition along with the American Civil Liberties  Union, NARAL Pro-Choice Arizona, and Planned Parenthood of Arizona. ⁷

BPOC organizes and participates in political education events and campaigns in support of “Disability and Reproductive Justice, abolition, and black queer feminism.” ⁸

BPOC established the “Why I Didn’t Call” campaign to “educate the community about the history of oppressive systems” and identify alternatives to the police. ⁹

BPOC participates in the Facing Race national conference which convened in November 2024, along with BLM Pheonix Metro, Poder in Action, and One Arizona. ¹⁰ Facing Race is a national conference hosted by Race Forward  for racial activists and organizers to “build power and strategies to advance racial justice.” ¹¹ It is sponsored by corporate and non-profit organizations including the American Medical Association, the Kresge Foundation,  the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Open Society Foundations, the Service Employees International Union, the Transgender Law Center, NEO Philanthropy, the Marguerite Casey Foundation, and the Philanthropic Initiative for Racial Equity. ¹²

In March 2020, BPOC established the Mutual Aid Phoenix program to support the redistribution of resources, prioritizing “folks who are sick, disabled, quarantined without pay, elderly, undocumented, queer, Black, Indigenous, and/or people of color.” ¹³

Partnerships

Black Phoenix Organizing Collective (BPOC) is a member of the One Arizona coalition along with the Arizona Center for Empowerment, Central Arizonans for a Sustainable Economy, Chispa, Corazon Arizona, Mi Familia Vota, New American Leaders, Poder in Action, Planned Parenthood, Progress Arizona, Promise Arizona, Puente Human Rights Movement, and Wingbeat 88. ¹⁴ One Arizona is a voter mobilization group that focuses on left-of-center issues including “immigrant rights, voting rights, education equity, racial economic & restorative justice and climate justice.” ¹⁵

BPOC is a member of the Movement for Black Lives ¹⁶ and a founding member of the Empower Alliance for Reproductive Justice along with BLM Pheonix Metro and Black Political Cultivation Arizona. ¹⁷

BPOC is a member of the Phoenix Civilian Oversight Coalition along with several left activist groups including Poder in Action, Puente Human Rights Movement, BLM Pheonix Metro,  and White People Against White Supremacy. It formed in November 2019 to demand civilian oversight of the police department in response to alleged police brutality in Phoenix targeting Black people. ^{18 19}

Funding

In 2023, Black Phoenix Organizing Collective (BPOC) reported a revenue of $410,980 and expenses of $425,625. ²⁰

BPOC donors include the Working Families Organization, the Groundswell Fund, Solidaire Network, Borealis Philanthropy, NEO Philanthropy, the Common Counsel Foundation, the Liberty Hill Foundation, ²¹ and Open Society Foundations. ²²

Leadership

Parris Wallace launched the Black Phoenix Organizing Collective (BPOC) in 2019 to “create a space for Black people.” Previously she was a community college organizer for the Black activist group Poder in Action. ²³ In 2022, she became the Arizona state organizing director for the Working Families Party. ²⁴

Devon Johnson is a co-founder of BPOC and leads the disability justice program. Johnson graduated from Arizona State University and began his career at Teach for America and the Phoenix elementary school system. In 2020, he joined BPOC. ²⁵ In November 2024, he was a speaker at the Facing Race national racial activism conference organized by Race Forward in support of abolition and Black liberation. ²⁶

Jasmine Snipes was an organizing director of BPOC from 2022 to 2024. Snipes held administrative assistant roles in the Arizona House of Representatives and the Arizona Senate for approximately 10 years and was a communications coordinator for the Arizona Secretary of State in 2020. She was an operations lead for BLM Phoenix Metro and worked for the Anti-Defamation League for five years before joining BPOC. ²⁷