Biddy Mason -
Founder of First AME Church of Los Angeles
(Photo property of First AME
Church of Los Angeles, All Rights Reserved. Used with Permission)
FAME CHURCH CELEBRATES
FOUNDER BIDDY MASON
The First AME Church of Los Angeles celebrated church founder Biddy Mason’s life on Sunday, August 15th, on what would have been the trailblazer’s 192nd birthday. In honor of Mason, Pastor John J. Hunter and First Lady Denise Hunter presented the first-ever Biddy Mason Award to community leaders and advocates Angeles Echols-Brown and Areva Martin.
Bridget “Biddy” Mason founded FAME in 1872, making it the first and oldest church founded by African Americans in the City of Angels. Mason received the vision from God to establish a church that would minister to the mind, body and soul of all who would join that small band of believers. That vision and small band of believers has grown to what is now a congregation of more than 19,500 members and several dozen ministries within 13 corporations that bless and reach tens of thousands of seekers in greater metropolitan Los Angeles.
Angeles Echols-Brown receives the Biddy Mason Award from Pastor John J. Hunter and First Lady Denise Hunter. For more information go to www.educatingyoungminds.org
Mason, a trailblazer for women in California history, is known for enduring great personal adversity as a former slave while never losing her enormous humanitarian spirit for all people regardless of their color, creed or culture. Mason became a philanthropist and a self-made business woman in a time and place when most women, especially women of color, would never dream of attaining that level of financial independence and success. Despite her abundant financial wealth, she never lost sight of her true spiritual treasures – a life-long mission to help the poor and the needy – and leaving behind a legacy that inspires us all today by serving our communities and people in need.
“On behalf of the 19,500 congregants of FAME, and in honor of Biddy Mason’s birthday, we were honored to present Angeles Echols-Brown and Areva Martin the first-ever Biddy Mason Award in honor of their groundbreaking work,” said Pastor Dr. John J. Hunter. “Biddy Mason spent her life helping those in need. We are thrilled to carry on her tradition of giving by bestowing the Biddy Mason Award on these worthy recipients.”
Areva Martin receives the Biddy Mason Award from Pastor John J. Hunter and First Lady Denise Hunter.
For more information go to www.arevamartin.com
Angeles Echols-Brown has dedicated her life to creating and building Educating Young Minds, the non-profit organization she started in her one bedroom apartment. Tutorial assistance that began in Angeles' one-room apartment with two children and $50.00 has blossomed into a multifaceted and diverse organization that has touched the lives of more than 2,500 students in grades K-12.
Known to audiences across the country from her regular appearances on The Dr. Phil Show, as well as national stints on Fox News and NPR, Areva Martin is one of television’s most in-demand legal experts/analysts. In addition to being a sought-after legal expert, Martin is also President and co-founder of Special Needs Network, Inc. (SNN), a non-profit launched specifically to support families with special needs children. She is the only African-American woman and attorney on the California Legislative Blue Ribbon Commission on Autism and is the Chair of several organizations.
“Both Angeles Echols-Brown and Areva Martin have shown extraordinary charitable and leadership skills in our community,” said First Lady Denise Hunter. “We celebrate their vision for women of California and for women all over the world to strive for their dreams and ambitions and make them happen. Biddy Mason would have admired their passion.”
For more information on FAME and the first-ever Biddy Mason Award and its recipients, go to www.famechurch.org.
