EPISODE · Mar 22, 2023 · 34 MIN
Mary Ellen Pleasant - FROM THE VAULT
from Queens of the Mines · host Andrea Anderson, Gold Rush Author & Historian
Queens of the Mines features the authentic stories of gold rush women who blossomed from the camouflaged, twisted roots of California. She was one of the richest and most powerful people in California, and she was a black woman. Known as the “mother of civil rights in California”, one of San Francisco’s most notorious madams, a savior of the downtrodden, an exploiter of the wealthy and the “Queen of Voodoo”, while breaking racial taboos she played a remarkable role in the early years of San Francisco, and I want you to know her name. Ways to Support the QOTM family during the coronavirus Venmo @queensofthemines Cash App @queensofthemines www.queensofthemines.com youniqueproducts.com/queensofthemines Sponsors www.facebook.com/ColumbiaMercantile1855/ www.thebop209.com Sources: The Making of Mammy Pleasant by Lynn Hudson Mary Ellen Pleasant: Unsung Heroine” by Steve Crowe in Crisis, Jan-Feb 1999] NY Times Overlooked The Paris Review Found SF SF Museum MEPleasant.com Don‘t Call Her Mammy KQED How a Heroine became a demon in victorian SF Face 2 Face Africa KALW SF Public Radio Meet Mary Pleasant - film Nantucket Historical Association America Comes Alive! Encyclopedia - Mary Ellen Pleasant Burial Information
What this episode covers
Queens of the Mines features the authentic stories of gold rush women who blossomed from the camouflaged, twisted roots of California. She was one of the richest and most powerful people in California, and she was a black woman. Known as the “mother of civil rights in California”, one of San Francisco’s most notorious madams, a savior of the downtrodden, an exploiter of the wealthy and the “Queen of Voodoo”, while breaking racial taboos she played a remarkable role in the early years of San Francisco, and I want you to know her name. Ways to Support the QOTM family during the coronavirus Venmo @queensofthemines Cash App @queensofthemines www.queensofthemines.com youniqueproducts.com/queensofthemines Sponsors www.facebook.com/ColumbiaMercantile1855/ www.thebop209.com Sources: The Making of Mammy Pleasant by Lynn Hudson Mary Ellen Pleasant: Unsung Heroine” by Steve Crowe in Crisis, Jan-Feb 1999] NY Times Overlooked The Paris Review Found SF SF Museum MEPleasant.com Don‘t Call Her Mammy KQED How a Heroine became a demon in victorian SF Face 2 Face Africa KALW SF Public Radio Meet Mary Pleasant - film Nantucket Historical Association America Comes Alive! Encyclopedia - Mary Ellen Pleasant Burial Information
NOW PLAYING
Mary Ellen Pleasant - FROM THE VAULT
No transcript for this episode yet
Similar Episodes
Mar 26, 2026 ·1m
Mar 19, 2026 ·34m
Feb 18, 2026 ·11m
Feb 11, 2026 ·45m