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Portrait of Bridget "Biddy" Mason

Bridget “Biddy” Mason

The Long Walk to Freedom

Freedom Papers of Biddy Mason, given to her in 1860, photographed 1930–1989. View Biddy Mason's entire freedom papers.

Freedom Papers of Biddy Mason, given to her in 1860, photographed 1930–1989. View Biddy Mason's entire freedom papers.

A Woman of Independent Means

Ellen Mason Owens Huddleston, daughter of Biddy Mason, 1880– 1890

Bridget “Biddy” Mason at the Owens family house, Los Angeles, CA. Mason is center with white collar, ca. 1870

Charles Owens block purchased by Biddy Mason in 1866, Spring Street, 1907– 1908

Ellen Mason Owens Huddleston, daughter of Biddy Mason, 1880– 1890

Bridget “Biddy” Mason at the Owens family house, Los Angeles, CA. Mason is center with white collar, ca. 1870

Charles Owens block purchased by Biddy Mason in 1866, Spring Street, 1907– 1908

A Legacy of Faith and Worship

First African Methodist Episcopal Church of Los Angeles at 8th and Towne Avenue, 1960s

First African Methodist Episcopal Church of Los Angeles at 8th and Towne Avenue, 1960s

Biddy Mason Speaks Up

The winner of numerous literary awards in 2020 and 2021, the book Biddy Mason Speaks Up is a new installment in the “Fighting For Justice” Series of HeyDey Books. In this video, Ranger Master of the National Park Service reads the book aloud outdoors in the Santa Monica Mountains, where Biddy Mason spent a brief period before gaining her freedom.

If you hold your hand closed, nothing good can come in. The open hand is blessed, for it gives in abundance even as it receives.

Bridget "Biddy" Mason

Read more Lesser Known Stories

Photograph of 5 women from AKA Sorority

The Mississippi Health Project II: AKA Revisits Its Model for Community Health Care

In June and October of 2021, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. offered an array of health services to Mississippi residents in underserved communities.

Black and White Photograph of standing students

Education Crusader

Social worker, educator, and civil rights activist Vivian Carter Mason worked across racial lines to fight for equal education in Norfolk, Virginia.

Photograph of Workers at the Pacific Parachute Company

The Pacific Parachute Company

Skydiving entrepreneur Howard “Skippy” Smith founded one of the first Black-owned and managed war production plants during World War II.

Cover image of "Contending Forces: A Romance Illustrative of Negro Life North and South"

Pauline Elizabeth Hopkins

Literary author and editor Pauline Elizabeth Hopkins used the power of her pen to challenge society’s assumptions about Black women.

Photograph of Homer G. Philips hospital and students

Homer G. Phillips Hospital and School of Nursing

Homer G. Phillips Hospital served as a preeminent training facility for African American nurses and physicians during segregation.