Unsung Heroines Who Changed the Bay Area with Author Rae Alexandra

“I got really angry about the under-representation of women in public spaces,” she recalls. “...And then I realized: I write for a living."
About this Event

Sutro, King, Tilden, Peralta, Anza, Keith, Fillmore, Franklin, Jack London, Gough …The names of famous men are everywhere in the Bay Area. But what about women? In 2018, award-winning journalist Rae Alexandra set out to answer that question — at least in San Francisco. She found that only 12% of  street names, statues, parks, and public art memorialized women. 

“I got really angry about the under-representation of women in public spaces,” she recalls. “I was complaining about it constantly, to passengers on Muni and to people in bars. And then I realized: I write for a living.”

At the time, Rae was a reporter and producer for KQED Arts & Culture, and she vowed to call attention to the women who helped shape the Bay Area. In 2020, she launched her popular radio series to celebrate them. Her new book, , features 35 of the 55 mini-biographies she broadcast.

At Arts and Culture on Wednesday, November 4, at 7 p.m., Rae will introduce us to some of these amazing heroines. She’ll explain how she unearthed their stories and how those brave, accomplished women influenced the social, cultural and political life of the Bay Area.

Tickets for this program are $5 for club members and students and $10 for non-members.

Rae’s exhaustive research and her punchy, engaging writing style bring her subjects to life. From a formerly enslaved cook who became a celebrity chef to a pistol-packing Gold Rush gambler who beat men at their own game; from pioneering educators and nurses to civil rights activists and disability rights leaders, Rae’s “found women” made varied and valuable contributions.

Born and raised in Wales, Rae fell in love with San Francisco when she first visited the city in 1996. Already an accomplished music writer specializing in rock, punk and heavy metal, she moved to the city in 2002 and began contributing to publications like Maximum Rock & Roll, SF Weekly, and The Village Voice. She landed a part-time job at KQED in 2016 and went full time in 2020. In 2023, the Society for Professional Journalists honored her radio work. 

Last month, Rae left KQED to pursue other writing projects, including a possible followup to Unsung Heroines that would focus on “the wildest women of the West.”

You already may be familiar with Rae’s lively storytelling from hearing her on KQED.  But regardless of whether you recognize her voice or not, you are sure to enjoy hearing — and seeing  — Rae live. Sign up early for her informative and entertaining presentation about our no-longer-lost heroines.