Midtown in Sacramento in Sacramento County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)

Charlotte Amanda Spears Bass

19th Amendment Outdoor Museum

Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, April 20, 2021

1. Charlotte Amanda Spears Bass Marker

Inscription. Charlotta Bass was an educator, newspaper publisher-editor, and activist. She also focused on various other issues such as housing rights, voting rights, and labor rights, as well as police brutality and harassment. In 1952, Bass became the first African American woman nominated for Vice President. Bass is believed to be the first African American woman to own and operate a newspaper in the U.S.; she published the California Eagle from 1912 until 1951.

Erected 2020.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Civil Rights • Communications • Women.

Location. 38° 34.524′ N, 121° 28.887′ W. Marker is in Sacramento, California, in Sacramento County. It is in Midtown. Marker can be reached from the intersection of K Street and 19th Street, on the right when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1900 K street, Sacramento CA 95811, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Clara Shortridge Foltz (here, next to this marker); María Amparo Ruiz de Burton (a few steps from this marker); Lavinia Gertrude Watson (a few steps from this marker); Mary Church Terrell (within shouting distance of this

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marker); Marie Louise Bottineau Baldwin (within shouting distance of this marker); Juno Frankie Seay Pierce (within shouting distance of this marker); Gertrude Weil (within shouting distance of this marker); Zitkála-Šá (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Sacramento.

More about this marker. This is one of nineteen markers that comprise the 19th Amendment Outdoor museum, erected in 2020 as part of the "I Vote" project, honoring suffragettes and their work.

Also see . . .
1. Charlotta Spears Bass (National Women's History Museum). Excerpt: Charlotta Spears Bass, longtime editor of the African American newspaper The California Eagle, was a journalist, activist, and politician who fought for the civil rights of African Americans in the early and mid-twentieth century. The first Black woman to run for vice president of the United States (1952), she worked to combat what she called, “The two-headed monster, Segregation and Discrimination.” (Submitted on April 26, 2021.)

2. Charlotta Spears Bass: The First Black Woman VP Nominee | Unladylike2020 | PBS (YouTube, 12 min.)

Charlotte Amanda Spears Bass Marker - wide view image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, April 20, 2021

2. Charlotte Amanda Spears Bass Marker - wide view

. "Charlotta Spears Bass (1874-1969) one of the first African American women to own and operate a newspaper, and the first African American woman to run for Vice President of the United States, crusaded for over 40 years against racial violence, and discrimination in schools, housing, and the job market, in the pages of the California Eagle." (Submitted on April 26, 2021.)

<i>Portrait of Charlotta Bass</i> image. Click for full size.

courtesy of the Los Angeles Public Library, circa 1950s

3. Portrait of Charlotta Bass

Credits. This page was last revised on February 7, 2023. It was originally submitted on April 25, 2021, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California. This page has been viewed 165 times since then and 21 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on April 26, 2021, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California.