OUR RICH BLACK HERITAGE" : DR. GILBERT R MASON

"A boy is born in hard time Mississippi ; Surrounded by four walls that ain't so pretty ; His parents give him love and affection, to keep him strong, moving in the right direction, Living just enough, just enough,for the City!" - Stevie Wonder Often during the year, and especially during the summer months, many Black People from Monroe, Louisiana take trips to Biloxi, Mississippi to get away and enjoy the beach environment. Sadly, many go and come back without even realizing that they have just visited a site that held such significance for Black People during the Civil Rights Movement. You see, the Biloxi beach is where the "BILOXI WADE-INS," which were 3 protests conducted by local Blacks on the beaches of Biloxi, took place between 1959 and 1963. Well, I must admit that without the internet, I wouldn't have known about the Biloxi Wade-ins either. By the way, the Biloxi Wade-ins were led by a local Black doctor by the name of Gilbert R. Mason. During the first demonstration, Dr. Mason led 9 Black Biloxians onto a restricted spot along the Biloxi beach that was reserved for "WHITE'S ONLY!" Additionally, about a year later at a different Biloxi Wade-in, a literal "blood-bath," took place between Black citizens & White citizens of Biloxi, while White Biloxi police officers just stood by and watched! The race-riot was so bad that it led the U.S. Justice Department to initiate the first-ever federal court challenge of Mississippi’s segregationist laws and practices. In the Spring of 1963, about two weeks following the assassination of Medgar Evers, Gilbert led a third Biloxi Wade-in. This time, the Black protesters faced a group of about 2,000 White People, but the Biloxi police on the scene were instructed to keep the peace and keep the two groups apart. Even though a legal challenge had been initiated by the U.S.Department of Justice in 1960, it wasn't until 1968 that the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Mississippi beaches were indeed public property, and not private property! Up until the ruling, White private homeowners had insisted that the Biloxi beach was private property. So, the next time you visit Biloxi, Mississippi, please be sure and remember to visit the beaches where the "BILOXI WADE-INS & RACE-RIOT" took place between 1959 and 1963! Now on to this week's Black Pioneer. Gilbert R. Mason Sr. was born on October 7,1928 in Jackson, Mississippi to Willie A. Mason and Adeline J Mason. He was raised and received his childhood education in Jackson, Mississippi. In 1949, Gilbert left Jackson to attend Tennessee State University in Tennessee. After graduating from TSU, he enrolled at Howard University, a historically Black college in Washington D.C.. In 1954, Gilbert received his M.D. degree and moved to St. Louis, Missouri to serve his internship. In 1955,he completed his internship and moved to the Mississippi Gulf Coast, where he opened a family medical clinic in Biloxi, Mississippi. Not long after being in Biloxi, Gilbert met a fellow Black doctor by the name of Felix Dunn, who had a office in Gulfport , Mississippi. They found out that they were both interested in the Civil Rights Movement, and both of them were members of the NAACP. Additionally, they set up a Black Citizens Action Committee to address the discrimination practices and Jim Crow Laws that were going on in Biloxi. Furthermore, the two doctors resented the fact that the Biloxi beach was reserved for the White citizens of Biloxi. Therefore, in 1959, Dr Gilbert R. Mason, Dr. Felix Dunn, and a group of other Black residents of Biloxi decided to organize a non-violent protest that became known as "THE BILOXI WADE-INS!" On July 8, 2006, Gilbert R. Mason died in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, and was laid to rest in Biloxi City Cemetery.