"Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely,
whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy; meditate on these things."-- Phillipians 4:8
"I would urge that ... brothers individually, would continue to be inspired to worthy actions through the ideas and visions of the Fraternity and its leadership, and strive for even greater achievements in the future than we had in the past." Dr. Charles H. Wesley, 1949

About the Candidate

Brother Reverend Herman "Skip" Mason, Jr., serves as the College Archivist for Morehouse College and also holds the Edward and Hermese Roberts Endowed Directorship for the college's Learning Resource Center. He is also the pastor of the Greater Hopewell Christian Methodist Episcopal Church. Brother Mason, son of Herman and Deloris Harris Mason(both natives of Jacksonville, Florida) was born in Atlanta, Georgia. A product of the Atlanta public schools, Brother Mason matriculated at Morris Brown College, where he received his Bachelors of Arts degree. He went on to receive a Masters Degree in Library and Information Science with a concentration in African-American history from Clark Atlanta University in 1989. That same year, he was also awarded his certification in Archival Studies from the Archives Institute of the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and was re-certified in 2005 by the State of Georgia Department of Archives and History. Brother Mason has authored several books and produced various videos including: Going Against the Wind: A History of African Americans in Atlanta; Black Atlanta in the Roaring Twenties; African-American Life in Jacksonville, Florida; The History of Black Entertainment in Atlanta; and History of African-American in DeKalb County, African-American Life in East Point and Washington, Georgia; Politics, Law and Civil Rights in Atlanta and the Talented Tenth: The Founders and Presidents of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity to name a few.

Brother Mason served as the historian and guide for the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Birth home and has conducted extensive research on the Atlanta years of Dr. King and his involvement with Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity. He has also served as a consultant and curator on numerous projects and exhibits documenting the African-American experience including PBS, the American Experience and HBO. He served as a consultant and researcher for the documentary ?Alpha Phi Alpha: A Century of Leadership. He is a frequent guest on radio and television shows including the Tom Joyner Show, CNN and Turner network discussing the history of African-Americans. He is also the owner of Skip Mason Archives (formerly known as Digging It Up), a company which supplies visual images to historical projects. He is also a nationally known Genealogist and has conducted hundreds of workshops on researching African-American family history. In addition, he has an extensive collection of African-American memorabilia.

Currently, he serves as the Chairman of the National Historical Commission and is the curator of the Centennial Exhibition and Traveling Exhibition, which opened in July of 2006 during the Centennial Convention. He is the 1989 National Alumni Brother of the Year and former President of Eta Lambda Chapter in Atlanta, Georgia. He served as Chair of the Metro Atlanta Centennial Celebration. During his administration as President of Eta Lambda Chapter, he led the chapter to selling a former elementary school to a charter school where the chapter netted profits of over 1.3 million dollars.

His memberships are numerous including the NAACP (where he serves on the Board of the Atlanta branch), the Society of American Archivists, Leadership Atlanta and Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity (the Boule). In spite all his accomplishments, Brother Mason's greatest joy comes as the husband of Harmel Codi Mason (President and CEO of Destiny Mortgage) and as the father of their children Jewel and Jodari.

Brother Mason at his first General Convention in New Orleans in 1983. Shown with Brother Raymond W. Cannon, first Editor to The Sphinx and 12th General President in Washington, D.C. in 1985. Sharing a moment with Brother Cornell West during the Centennial Convention in Washington, D.C. The Mason's at Universal Studios in Orlando during the 101st Anniversary Convention.