Unsung Heroines: 35 Women Who Changed The Bay Area with Rae Alexandra

Women are grossly underrepresented in all of the Bay Area’s public spaces, but not because they didn’t exist! How many other notable women who deserve public recognition have been written out of the history of our region?

Drawn from award-winning journalist Rae Alexandra’s KQED Arts & Culture series, “Rebel Girls From Bay Area History,” Unsung Heroines is a collection of 35 short profiles honoring the contributions of a divese group of women from San Francisco, the East Bay, and the greater Bay Area, from the very first years of the founding of San Francisco to the present day.

Educators and organizers, adventurers and entertainers, these inspiring women had a profound impact on our region. Together, their stories constitute a new telling of the history of Northern California from the vantage point of women who made a difference. 

This event is co-sponsored by City Lights Booksellers & Publishers.

About the Author

Rae Alexandra is an award-winning arts and culture writer with a passion for weird history, pop culture and feminist causes. Born and raised in Wales, she started her career in London as a music journalist and worked for uproarious rock 'n' roll magazine Kerrang! for a decade. After moving to San Francisco in 2002, she also began contributing to alt-weeklies including SF Weekly and The Village Voice, before landing at KQED in 2017. Her love for all things Bay Area soon prompted Rae to pivot into researching and writing about local history. After 20 years living in San Francisco's Mission District, Rae recently relocated to Stockton, California. Photo by Nicole Newsom 

$5 for Members, $15 for Non-Members