Heroes: Charlotta Bass
I had never heard of Charlotta Bass until a history course I took last semester called “Media and Politics in Modern America.” Although, can I really be surprised when our American education system decided from the beginning that white men are responsible for our history? Luckily I had the privilege of taking this course that reshaped my previous conception of history by focusing on important professional figures in the media that shaped our current media consumption. One of the figures that stood out to me was this Black woman, Charlotta Bass. She was born in the South in 1874 and utilized her passion for civil rights activism to mold her radical career in African American journalism and politics.
(California Museum)
Bass’ career in journalism began when she moved to Los Angeles in 1910. Her first job was selling subscriptions for The California Eagle. The Eagle was launched in 1879 in order to provide a resource that would help simplify the migration West by black communities leaving the South; the newspaper posted job and housing options in the area. Bass became the owner and editor in 1912 with her husband, Joseph Bass, after the previous owner passed away (PBS). Once Bass took over, she drove the success of the newspaper. They published local and national news tailored towards cities with large Black communities. The Eagle grew to be one of the leading Black newspapers in the country under Bass’s leadership until she retired her journalism career in 1951. The newspaper remained in business until closing in 1964 (Vivian R. Johnson, The HistoryMakers).
Bass’ role at The Eagle made her the first African American woman to own an American newspaper. When Bass took over the publication, she enhanced The Eagle’s role in combating the violence of the Jim Crow laws and customs that targeted Black people. On top of publishing helpful clippings about job postings and housing, Bass encouraged articles sharing stories of Black individuals and communities suffering white supremacist brutality and extreme violence. The Eagle did not hold back from posting images of the dead bodies of Black people who were lynched. They also wrote stories about Black protestors rallying to end Jim Crow segregation and violence. Bass pushed the publication to share truthful stories no matter the consequences. After stepping down as editor in 1951, Bass continued to attend political conferences worldwide, and remained a Black activist fighting against employment and housing discrimination, police brutality, voting barriers, unequal access to education, and codified Jim Crow policies (USC Charlotta Bass Photo Collection).
Years before selling The Eagle, she ignited her political career by joining the Los Angeles County Grand Jury as the first black woman to achieve this honor in 1943. Two years later, she ran for City Council and received threats from the Ku Klux Klan who supported her opponent (Southern California Library). After accusations surfaced of being Communist, Bass struggled to continue the success of The Eagle. So, Bass decided to sell the newspaper and continued her empowering Black activism through running for political office (Southern California Library). After assisting in other campaigns including Henry Wallace’s run for presidency, she ran for U.S. Congress in 1950. Despite losing the election, Bass accepted her nomination as a Progressive party candidate for Vice President in 1952, becoming the first Black woman to run for national office. Her party did not win this election either, but Bass and her Progressive party candidates emphasized their primary goal of raising awareness for relevant issues (like segregation and public health) rather than counting on achieving political office.
(University of Michigan Library)
Bass broke major barriers. She faced discrimination as a black woman owning a company and running for political office. But, the discrimination Bass faced motivated her career as a powerful activist, leader, and role model. African American newspapers allowed for a raw depiction of the reality African Americans were collectively facing. Newspapers validated Black experiences as targets of white supremacist brutality and provided information for Black people to find jobs and housing to survive. Bass was one of the leaders willing to encourage her newspaper to publish the truth about being Black in America.
Bass’s newspaper was publishing during the height of the Jim Crow era. These newspapers ran the risk of white people discovering the published content and responding by abusing or killing the journalists. To complicate the risk, Bass was a woman in an influential leadership role, something that America still rejects as plausible. Bass had every reason to make herself invisible to protect her life, but instead she operated a newspaper that wrote about everything white publications would never entertain. Bass spent half of her life with the FBI watching her behavior after being accused of joining The Communist Party. The surveillance and intimidation did not stop Bass from speaking and engaging with Black communities to ignite Black resistance and seek justice.
In the history course I took, we spent a lecture learning specifically about Black newspapers in the 20th century during the Jim Crow era. After learning about The California Eagle, I wanted to learn more about Bass’s incredible career. We were assigned a research project for the semester, which gave me the opportunity to learn about her impact on 20th century social and racial justice movements.
(Los Angeles Magazine)