A three-day celebration honoring the life and legacy of pioneering Los Angeles philanthropist and First AME Church founder Bridget “Biddy” Mason will begin Friday with events highlighting her contributions to the city and the Black community.

Life and Legacy

Mason, born into slavery in 1818, won her freedom in a Los Angeles courtroom in 1856 after challenging efforts to force her back into slavery. She later became a successful nurse, midwife, entrepreneur, and real estate investor, helping establish First AME Church and becoming one of the city’s most influential early Black civic leaders.

The “I Am Biddy” celebration, organized by First African Methodist Episcopal Church of Los Angeles, will continue through Saturday and Sunday with programs commemorating Mason’s journey from enslavement to becoming one of the city’s earliest Black landowners, entrepreneurs, and civic leaders.

On Saturday, First AME will host a fundraising brunch at the FAME Community House in the Adams-Normandie area to support plans to transform the facility into a center for community engagement, cultural preservation, education, healing, gang intervention, and business incubation.

The celebration will conclude Sunday with an “I Am Biddy” musical worship service at First AME Church featuring the church’s mass choir, youth, and congregation.

Original reporting: NBC4 Los Angeles — read the source article.