User:Dbenford/Geneva Mason

Geneva Mason was a prominent community leader in the Scotland community in Montgomery County. She was born in 1899 in Washington, D.C. and raised in Georgetown. She graduated from the O Street Vocational School. In 1917, Mason moved to the Scotland community in Potomac, Maryland. She was the first African-American woman from her district to serve on the Montgomery County Government Committee. In this role, she worked to improve health care, housing, education, and water and sewer services in Scotland. In the 1950s, Mason worked with the Board of Education on integration of schools. She also worked on the Charter Commission Committee and the Suburban Hospital Committee. Mason also spent 17 years fostering over 25 children in her community.

From Interview in 1975 - http://montgomeryhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Mason_OH_outlineR.pdf

https://montgomeryhistory.pastperfectonline.com/archive/1FE77F6D-1D89-4895-A717-947808689890

https://bethesdamagazine.com/bethesda-beat/government/county-chooses-new-names-for-potomac-streets-that-honor-confederate-leaders/

...community leaders in what is known as the “Scotland” community, near Seven Locks Road in Potomac.

The community was one originally made up of formerly enslaved people.

Mason, who died in 1980, “was instrumental in the rebuilding of the Scotland community and its fight against urban renewal efforts in the 1960s,” according to the Planning Department’s press release.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Geneva_Mason_and_Joyce_Siegel_with_Scotland_Maryland_zoning_sign.jpg

Scotland,_Montgomery_County,_Maryland

Joyce B. Siegel

“She formed "Save Our Scotland" and a formal committee structure created in February 1965 (with Scotland residents (such as Geneva Mason), ministers, and Siegel on its board of directors). Save Our Scotland built heavily on faith communities”

https://montgomeryhistory.org/pdf/43-2.pdf

[MNCPPC bought land from Scotland to create Cabin John Park]