Press Releases

At this invitational luncheon, Actress Carla Valentine will portray Biddy Mason whose life story began in 1818 in the slave-holding state of Georgia. She moved west when her master, Robert Marion Smith, relocated his household first to Utah and then to California. After discovering that California was a “free state,” Biddy successfully petitioned the court to free her and her three daughters. Because of her long experience in healing the sick and delivering babies, she became a midwife and nurse which brought her financial independence. As the first black woman to own property in early Los Angeles, she used some of her resources to assist local charities. Though her generosity and that of her family, they made a difference by providing food and shelter to those in need, visiting prison inmates and helping to found and finance L.A.’s first black church.

The Pasadena Community Foundation, a philanthropic resource to our local community, will host this annual Legacy Luncheon and is pleased this year to honor the philanthropic contributions of others who are making a difference, members of Pasadena area women’s service groups and donors to the Foundation’s own Legacy Society.