Charlotta Bass
Armed With a Newspaper...and, Once, a Pistol
Charlotta Amanda Spears Bass understood something about power: sometimes the most dangerous weapon in the room is a printing press.
Born in the nineteenth century, Bass eventually made her way to Los Angeles and became associated with the California Eagle, one of the oldest Black newspapers in the western United States. She ultimately became its publisher and used its pages to challenge racial discrimination, segregated housing, employment discrimination, police brutality and the Ku Klux Klan. Charlotta Amanda Spears Bass
And that brought trouble directly to her door.
In 1925, the California Eagle published information concerning Klan activity around Watts. An organization associated with the Klan, the Knights of the White Camellia, sued the newspaper for libel.
Bass didn't retreat.
The Eagle prevailed in court. Charlotta Amanda Spears Bass
Then came the encounter that sounds almost too cinematic to be true.
According to accounts of Bass's life, eight hooded Klansmen appeared at the newspaper office while she was there alone.
Bass reached for a pistol.
There was just one problem.
She reportedly had never handled a gun before and wasn't even certain which end she was supposed to point at them.
Apparently, the Klansmen weren't interested in waiting around while she figured it out.
They left. Charlotta Amanda Spears Bass
The intimidation didn't silence her.
Bass continued using the California Eagle to campaign against police brutality, restrictive housing practices and racial discrimination. She also challenged the portrayal of the Ku Klux Klan in D.W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation. Charlotta Amanda Spears Bass
Eventually, the government began paying attention to her.
The FBI placed Bass under surveillance and labeled her a communist. Her activities also attracted scrutiny from California's Un-American Activities Committee. Charlotta Amanda Spears Bass
But Bass wasn't finished making history.
In 1952, she became the first Black woman to run for vice president of the United States, appearing on the Progressive Party ticket with presidential candidate Vincent Hallinan. Charlotta Amanda Spears Bass
Think about the arc of that life.
A woman running a newspaper when both her race and her sex placed enormous barriers in her way.
She publicly confronted the Klan.
She beat a Klan-connected organization in court.
Eight hooded men arrived at her workplace, and she refused to be frightened into silence.
The government investigated her.
And decades before a Black woman would become Vice President of the United States, Charlotta Bass put her own name on the ballot for that office.
There is one little story about Bass that may capture her personality better than all the dates and accomplishments.
After the confrontation with the Klansmen, her husband reportedly worried that her determination was eventually going to get him killed.
Her response amounted to:
If that happened, at least it would be for a good cause. Charlotta Amanda Spears Bass
Some people spend their lives avoiding trouble.
Charlotta Bass published it on the front page.
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