BIOGRAPHY

Pearl Bassett was born in Marion, Indiana, USA, on 28 April 1911, to Augustus Cannon and Mary Fleming. She had seven siblings. At just 12 years old, she joined the NAACP and played a pivotal role in desegregating the Matter Park Pool in 1955. She also became the first African-American Secretary of the Grant County Democratic Central Committee and the first Democratic Precinct Chairwoman in Grant County, Indiana.

She graduated from Wabash High School and later attended Poro Beauty School in Cincinnati, Ohio, after her marriage and subsequent divorce from Paul Bassett. Her education enabled her to establish her own cosmetology business in Marion, making her one of the few female business owners in the area. Her husband passed away at the age of 56, and she lived in the house he built for them until just a few years before her own passing. When asked about the secret to her longevity, she replied, “I always say you have to ask the old man upstairs. I’ve been sickly a lot, but I made it.”

Bassett received numerous local, state, and national honors, including the NAACP Unsung Heroine Award, the Francis Hook Award—the NAACP’s highest honor for women—and the Centurion Award, which was presented by Governor Mike Pence in 2003. In 2016, she was the oldest torchbearer to carry the torch during Indiana’s 200th Bicentennial Anniversary.

Bassett passed away in Fayetteville, North Carolina, USA, on 7 June 2021, at the age of 110 years, 40 days. She was survived by three children (Renee, Nojir, and Paula), six grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren, and four great-great-grandchildren.

RECOGNITION

Her age has not been validated.

ATTRIBUTION

* “Pearl Bassett” – IN.gov, 24 March 2019

* “She winters in Fayetteville, but back home is a civil rights legend” – The Fayetteville Observer, 3 April 2019

* “Marion woman celebrates 110th birthday” – WRTV, 29 April 2021

* “Death of Pearl Bassett, 110, of Marion, Indiana” – Bassett Family Association, 24 June 2021

* “Official Obituary of Mrs. Pearl Bassett” – Herring Funeral Care

* “Official Obituary of Ms. Pearl Bassett” – Rawls Mortuary

GALLERY