The Oakland branch of the NAACP and the Oakland/Berkeley chapter of Black Women Organized for Political Action (BWOPA) have issued a joint statement condemning what they describe as harassment, intimidation and discrimination targeting Black women in politics.
Founded in 1968, BWOPA is a California-based nonprofit advocacy and membership organization that is focused on increasing Black women’s participation and influence in the political process.
Danielle Motley-Lewis, president of BWOPA’s Oakland/Berkeley chapter, told California Black Media (CBM) that the statement reflects growing concerns about online hostility and political attacks directed at Black women candidates, elected officials and public servants.
“These allegations deserve serious attention and should not be dismissed as ordinary political disagreements,” the organizations said in their statement.
The concerns have surfaced amid a contentious race for the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) Board of Education’s District 6 seat, where candidate LeAna Powell has reported experiencing harassment during her campaign.
Powell is running against Alexandra Williams and incumbent Valarie Bachelor, the school board’s vice president. All three candidates are Black women.
Motley-Lewis said the organizations’ statement addresses concerns extending beyond the school board contest, although Powell’s experiences helped bring the issue into focus.
“I could only speak to what I witnessed on social media. There were various types of harassment online,” Motley-Lewis said of the back-and-forth about the candidates online.
“It was unnerving.”
Powell, a former aide to former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, previously filed an informal complaint with the Oakland Public Ethics Commission alleging that Thao, then a City Council member, pressured city employees to work on her mayoral campaign.
Thao was recalled in November 2024 and left office Dec. 17 of that year. She subsequently faced federal charges related to an alleged bribery scheme. The criminal proceedings are separate from the dispute involving Powell’s school board campaign.
Powell also filed a complaint with the NAACP concerning what she described as harassment during her campaign.
Among those publicly criticizing Powell is Brandon Harami, a former Oakland mayoral staffer and LGBTQ+ advocate who said he previously worked with Powell in Thao’s office.
In a Sept. 27 Facebook post, Harami questioned Powell’s qualifications, judgment and political associations.
“District 6 candidate for School Board LeAna Powell does not have the maturity nor spine required to be on the school board,” Harami wrote.
Motley-Lewis said the organizations had documented or witnessed conduct they considered troubling, although she emphasized that their concerns were not limited to Harami or Powell.
Harami has denied the allegations and accused the organizations of misrepresenting his conduct.
In an Oct. 11 Instagram post, he called the joint statement a political smear and demanded that BWOPA and the Oakland NAACP retract it.
He argued that the organizations’ characterization of his actions unfairly portrayed him as having a history of harassment and discrimination. He also contended that the allegations were being used to silence LGBTQ+ voices.
Motley-Lewis said she declined Harami’s request for a retraction because the statement addressed a broader pattern of conduct affecting Black women in politics.
“I was open to brokering that conversation. However, (Harami) was unwilling,” Motley-Lewis said. “He did reach out to BWOP to retract our statement, and I advised him that I would not be doing that. The statement that he was included in (addressed) a broader problem that is experienced by various women.”
