Timeline of Bass's Major Civil Right Activities

1915: Ignited a protest over D.W. Griffith's film Birth of a Nation, which glorified the Ku Klux Klan and depicted Blacks in a very racist way.

1917: Persuaded the Los Angeles County (General) Hospital to hire black women for the first time.

1918: Tried to join the all-white Typographical Union but was denied membership. This was an early indication of her commitment to the integration of labor unions.

1920-1921: Charter member of the local division of Marcus Garvey's Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), serving as president and state organizer; active in the Pacific Coast Negro Improvement Association after it broke from UNIA in 1921.

1920-1951: Reported on Ku Klux Klan activities and confronted Klan leadership in Los Angeles; sued by the Klan in 1925 for libel, winning the case.

1925-1926: Sued a restaurant for refusing her and her companions service.

1930: Organized the formation of the Industrial Council, established to combat discrimination and to encourage business on Central Avenue, Los Angeles' black business district, and is elected president.

1931-1950: Used the Eagle to call for an end to racial restrictive covenants that barred blacks from living in certain neighborhoods and worked with activists and other groups to promote a legal challenge and assist black homeowners.

1933-1936: Led the campaign to persuade the Southern California Telephone Company to hire Blacks.

1941: Worked with members of the Negro Victory Committee to challenge discrimination in Southern California's defense industry.

1941-1943: Active in the "Double Victory" movement that promoted victory against fascism in Europe during World War II and victory at home against racism.

mid-1940s to mid-1950s: Stood up for civil liberties as the California Legislature's Joint Fact-Finding Committee on Un-American Activities investigated allegations of "subversive" activities and the "threat" of Communism.

1945: Ran for Los Angeles 7th District City Council seat.

1947: Helped to found the Independent Progressive Party of California, part of the national Progressive Party, a third party movement, and served on the IPP executive board.

1948: Campaigned for and helped nominate Henry Wallace, the national Progressive Party candidate for president of the United States.

1950: Delegate to the Defenders of the Peace Committee of the Second World Peace Congress, meeting in Prague, Czechoslovakia.

1950: Ran for representative of the California 14th Congressional District in Los Angeles on the Progressive Party ticket.

1952: Ran for vice president of the United States on the Progressive Party ticket, with running mate Vincent Hallinan as presidential candidate.