Herman "Skip" Mason, Jr.

Morris Brown College, founded in 1881, has faced adversity throughout its history. Despite this, it has thrived and produced notable alumni in various fields. In 2002, the college lost its accreditation and faced bankruptcy, but after almost two decades of operating as an unaccredited institution, it regained its accreditation. Today, the college continues to persevere, with its doors open and its dream alive.

The Christian Methodist Episcopal, founded in 1870 in Jackson, Tennessee, was the first Protestant African American denomination established in the South. With more than 330 CME churches in Georgia alone, it has become one of the premier Christian denominations for African American worship and religious life.   

From 1949 when it opened until the late 1960s, the Royal Peacock was Atlanta’s premier nightclub. Located at 186 Auburn Avenue, people dressed to the nines would line up in lines that wrapped around the block just to see the best entertainers in the country including James Brown, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, and Marvin Gaye. The club helped create the fertile soil that allowed Atlanta to become the hip-hop and rhythm and blues capital of the South.