<P> Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is an international mutual aid fellowship whose stated purpose is to enable its members to "stay sober and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety ." It was founded in 1935 by Bill Wilson and Bob Smith in Akron, Ohio . With other early members, Bill Wilson and Bob Smith developed AA's Twelve Step program of spiritual and character development . AA's initial Twelve Traditions were introduced in 1946 to help the fellowship be stable and unified while disengaged from "outside issues" and influences . </P> <P> The Traditions recommend that members remain anonymous in public media, altruistically help other alcoholics, and that AA groups avoid official affiliations with other organizations . They also advise against dogma and coercive hierarchies . Subsequent fellowships such as Narcotics Anonymous have adopted and adapted the Twelve Steps and the Twelve Traditions to their respective primary purposes . </P> <P> The first female member, Florence Rankin, joined AA in March 1937, and the first non-Protestant member, a Roman Catholic, joined in 1939 . The first Black AA group was established in 1945 in Washington DC by Jim S., an African - American physician from Virginia . AA membership has since spread internationally "across diverse cultures holding different beliefs and values", including geopolitical areas resistant to grassroots movements . Close to 2 million people worldwide are members of AA as of 2016 . </P>

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