1. Community Building: BBPU’s annual Kwanzaa, Black Graduate Celebration, Black 2 School BBQ, and Soul Strolls series, as well as our workshops, mixers, and game nights, affirm Black cultural traditions as well create intergenerational spaces for our Black community members and their families to connect and build relationships with one another.
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About Us
What is BBPU?
Beaverton Black People’s Union (BBPU) unites Black families in Beaverton, advocating for resources that support Black children, fostering community, and moving from ideas to action through grassroots organizing. Our vision is to build the ecosystem of resources needed for a connected community to feel safe, loved and seen; a place where Black people of any age want to live and stay.
To accomplish our mission, we also organize community-wide, multi-generational events that uplift, celebrate, and preserve Black culture and traditions. These types of engagements are critical in creating a sense of belonging in the Beaverton area, welcoming new families to the community, and fostering systems of social support. They also supply networks of relationships and resources that provide emotional, informational, and practical assistance, particularly during times of need, for Black residents and their families.
Our Pillars
1. Community Building: BBPU’s annual Kwanzaa, Black Graduate Celebration, Black 2 School BBQ, and Soul Strolls series, as well as our workshops, mixers, and game nights, affirm Black cultural traditions as well create intergenerational spaces for our Black community members and their families to connect and build relationships with one another.
2. Youth Support & Empowerment: Our Beaverton Student Leaders Network, Black and Green Fellowship, Scholarship Fund, and Cultural Academy are strategies for building culturally affirming resources and safe spaces for young people to heal, establish positive relationships with peers and mentors, and thrive towards their goals.
3. Organizing for Community Change: Our advocacy and organizing around injustice and inequities facing Black students and families in the region and statewide, as well as helping parents address problems within their children’s schools, is ongoing. We provide a parent advocacy training program, as well as Parent and Student Rights Workshop, in addition to one-on-one support. We also help connect BBPU members to opportunities to serve on civic bodies and in local public leadership roles.
About BBPU
Black families have been in Beaverton for generations; however, until our founding, the community lacked a culturally specific organization dedicated to organizing people and changing conditions at the systemic level. BBPU evolved from a group of activated parents battling to be seen and heard in the Beaverton School District. Over the past five years, BBPU has grown into an organization serving our community of 500-plus members through a variety of culturally rooted programs, educational offerings, and leadership development and community engagement opportunities.
