LANSING, Mich. — Barbara Roberts Mason was the first Black woman in Michigan to be elected to statewide office in 1974.
"Nothing stopped me," Mason said. "You don't stop just because something negative is there. You just keep going. That's what life is all about. That's what makes it important."
Laurín Roberts Thomas says when she looks at her mother's legacy, she see's a phenomenal woman. "She's an amazing woman. She's been an amazing role model. She's an amazing grandmother," she said. "As I listened to her, what comes to me is that, as a kid, all my life I heard, good, better best. Never let it rest. Until your good is better, and your better is your best."
Mason practiced what she preached to her kids and spent her whole life doing the best she could. She has the trophies, the stories, and the pictures to prove it.
In 1947, Mason was elected to the State Board of Education. She served for 24 years and pushed for equal opportunities for students across the state.
"A lot of people think that our kids cannot excel, but I always believe that they should reach the highest potential, and that teachers have the responsibility to make sure that happens," Mason said.
While Mason has many achievements, the road to success was not easy.
"The racism and the anti woman stance was very, very apparent. Having a woman who intimidated mainly white male board members was not something that they liked," she said.
But Mason looked every obstacle in the eye and persevered. She is the founder of the Black Child and Family Institute, established work towards clean water, sanitation, and hygiene in Ghana, and played a major role in the desegregation of Lansing schools.
"You do the best that you can. And you know, you have a goal. And my goal was always helping people and making sure that what I did. The contributions that I made were in the best interest of all people," she said.
Barbara Roberts Mason is a woman with a lot of heart. She was inducted into the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame in 2014 and will be honored as an elder in Johannesburg, South Africa next year.
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