Black Women for Wellness (BWWLA) is a Los Angeles, California-based left-leaning advocacy organization that supports abortion and other social-liberal policy issues. The organization also focuses on promoting health and fighting obesity in African-American communities by hosting vegetarian cooking classes and diabetes education and prevention.
The organization is active in the political and electoral arena, lobbying on pro-abortion issues, and leading a voting coalition that canvasses homes, hosts phone banks, trainings, forums and “accountability conversations” with elected officials in Los Angeles. The organization also has a sister organization, the Black Women for Wellness Action Project, which directly lobbies on left-leaning issues including abortion, environmentalism, and law enforcement. 1
Background
Black Women for Wellness was founded in the early 1990s as a community-based organization to support the health of black women, especially new mothers, in Los Angeles. The group initially teamed up with the Birthing Project to form a mentoring program for new parents while launching a variety of other birthing and wellness programs. At first an informal organization, Black Women for Wellness was formally incorporated as a 501(c)(3) charity in California in 1997. It was around this time that the organization began to shift to focus on legislation and advocacy on issues such as abortion. 2
Janette (Jan) Robinson Flint currently serves as executive director for Black Women for Wellness. Flint is a long time Los Angeles area activist and is also associated with pro-abortion groups including the Los Angeles Coalition for Reproductive Justice, California Coalition for Reproductive Freedom, and In Our Own Voice: National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda. Flint’s background also includes work at and projects with the Birthing Project USA, Great Beginnings for Black Babies, National Health Foundation, March of Dimes, California Primary Care Association, Inglewood Healthy Mothers & Babies, South Los Angeles Health Project, and Women Infant & Children (South Los Angeles advisory board) Programs and projects with the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science. 3
Activity
Black Women for Wellness work on a variety of left-leaning policy issues as well as health and wellness initiatives targeted to African-American women and girls in los Angeles including cooking classes, diabetes prevention, and STEM education. 4
Black Women for Wellness is most vocal in its pro-abortion policy work. The organization convenes an annual policy conference with other pro-abortion and left-leaning groups such as the AFL-CIO and the Center for American Progress. The organization also lobbies on pro-abortion legislation before the California Legislature. Recently, the organization partnered with NARAL Pro-Choice California and the California Attorney General’s Office to support AB 775, the Reproductive FACT (Freedom, Accountability, Comprehensive Care, and Transparency) Act, which forces health care provides to inform women about abortion options and specifically targets Crisis Pregnancy Centers, non-abortion-performing resource centers that are derided by Black Women for Wellness and other pro-abortion groups. 5
Other left-leaning policies supported by Black Women for Wellness include civic engagement and environmental issues. The group has a project titled “Voting Rules Everything Around Me (VREAM)” that was launched in 2012 to solidify African-American women as a left-leaning voting bloc. The project holds briefings on pro-abortion issues, holds voter registration drives and trainings, and canvasses homes in Los Angeles. The group touts the fact that in 2016, over 70% of registered black women voted, “more than any other ethnic group or gender in the U.S.” 6 The organization also engages in environmentalist work around the types of chemicals used in hairstyling products. 7
References
- “About Us” Black Women for Wellness. Accessed July 10, 2020. https://www.bwwla.org/about-us/
- “Black Women for Wellness”. The Praxis Project. Accessed July 10, 2020. https://www.thepraxisproject.org/cbph-orgs/2020/1/9/black-women-for-wellness
- “Staff” Black Women for Wellness. Accessed July 10, 2020. https://www.bwwla.org/staff/
- “About Us” Black Women for Wellness. Accessed July 10, 2020. https://www.bwwla.org/about-us/
- “Reproductive Justice” Black Women for Wellness. Accessed July 10, 2020. https://www.bwwla.org/reproductive-justice/
- “Civic Engagement and Voter Education” Black Women for Wellness. Accessed July 10, 2020. https://www.bwwla.org/civic-engagement-and-voter-education/
- “Environmental Justice” Black Women for Wellness. Accessed July 10, 2020. https://www.bwwla.org/environmental-justice/