Learn about Charlotta Spears Bass, a crusading newspaper editor and politician who was one of the first African American women to own and operate a newspaper in the United States, in In this video from the Unladylike2020 series.

She published the California Eagle in Los Angeles from 1912 until 1951, at a time when newsrooms were male-dominated and few white journalists focused on issues of importance to African Americans. In the paper’s pages, she addressed racism, police brutality, and restrictive housing policies. Later in her career, Bass entered politics and was the first African American woman to run for Vice President of the United States in 1952.

Support materials include discussion questions, primary source analysis, research project ideas, and the New York Times Magazine “1619 Project” created by Nikole Hannah-Jones.