6) #BlackHistoryMonth Mary Mason

For 40 years, Mary Mason was the face of morning radio in Philadelphia- the undisputed queen of media- whose “ in-your-face”, plain speaking, weekday morning chatfests both informed and irritated generations of politicians and celebrities, leaders and locals alike.

At the height of her influence from the ‘70s through the ‘90s, Mason was behind the election of countless politicos, including urging her listeners to vote for the city’s first Black Mayor-W. Wilson Goode. When anyone of notoriety came to Philly, if they wanted to be heard by the African American community, they went on Mornings with Mary to make news.

When Mary was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, sadly it made the news with the disclosure that her guardian grandson had absconded with close to a million dollars of her money leaving her destitute. Mary currently lives in a nursing facility in West Philadelphia. She is 94 years old.