Who we are
Through generations, Black, Indigenous and Womxn of color (BIWOC) have been the backbone of our families and neighborhoods. We held our first gathering in February 2018 to create a sacred, resilient space of ritual that aims for systemic advancement of BIWOC.Join us!
Do you identify as Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian, or a woman of color? Are you interested in joining us?
Email Monica at [email protected] for more information.
Click here to join our Facebook Group
Our work
In 2020, the global pandemic interrupted our work, but we are hoping to reconvene in 2021. Learn more about our past work by checking out our 2019 Year in Review and 2018 Year in Review.
WSCO hosted our first Indigenous Womxn and Womxn of Color Summit on September 15th, 2018. Together, we created a healing and sacred space to flex our collective muscle through connecting, storytelling, and transformative conversations.
In February and March 2019, we hosted Caucus Trainings. 32 BIWOC participated, representing 6 out of the 7 Wards in St. Paul.
We had a great turnout for Ward 2 Caucus, with many of us West Siders becoming delegates and passing resolutions!
In September 2019, we hosted our Indigenous Womxn and Womxn of Color Dinner with Candidates. Our goal was to create a welcoming, intergenerational space for IWWOC across St. Paul to engage with IWWOC Candidates running for School Board and City Council, share values, and develop pathways to better supporting one another.
Our name
In August of 2019, the West Side Indigenous Womxn and Womxn of Color Table (IWWOC) began discussing whether to change our Table’s name. These conversations have been ongoing and rooted in a commitment to dismantling anti-Blackness and racism in our communities.
In order to holistically advance our work in actively demolishing the dominant narrative and replacing it with our lived truths and realities, we stand firm in rejecting any disregard of or devaluing the experiences within the Black community.
It is for all of these reasons that we have decided to officially change our name to The West Side Black, Indigenous and Womxn of Color Table (BIWOC). With this decision we also want to be clear that deep conversation and learning doesn’t end with the name change. We’re committed to ongoing race and class work both within our Table and WSCO as a whole.
For those who wish to further understand our reasoning for this change, we invite you to check out the following resources.