Background
Bascom was born in Pensacola, Florida, to Mary Anderson and Bruce Bascom.
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Marion Bascom
Edit ProfileEducation
Bascom attended grade school in Pensacola at the Spencer Bibbs school. He also attended Wesley Seminary and Garret Biblical Institute and became a Reverend.
Career
Bascom oversaw numerous civic initiatives in the Baltimore community. He helped rear four siblings, one being Bernadette Bascom who became an Rhythm & Blues singer. This was followed by Bachelor of Journalism Washington High School, Florida Memorial and Howard University in Baltimore.
He started his ministry in Street Augustine, Florida, where he developed feelings about the problems among the black people at his church and elsewhere.
He was asked to come to Baltimore in 1949 to join the Douglas Memorial Community Church, which is the oldest in Bolton Hill. This church was an independent, after splitting from Bethel African Methodist Episcopal in 1925.
In addition to his religious leadership, Bascom served on the Board of Directors of the Reginald L. Lewis Museum, and was a leader in the founding of "Associated Black Charities". Bascom served as Baltimore"s first black fire commissioner, and organized a Meals on Wheels program for the community near his church.
Bascom marched with the Martin Luther King Junior. in Alabama, and led marches in Annapolis, Maryland.
He also participated in protests at Baltimore"s then all-white Northwood Theatre. Bascom led in the desegregation of many of the areas parks and restaurants, and on July 4, 1963, was one of 283 people arrested during a nonviolent protest at the segregated Gwynn Oak Amusement Park. The park integrated the following month.
Bascom died of a heart attack at the University of Maryland Medical Center.
He was 87. Baltimore mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake stated that Bascom was: "One of Baltimore"s great civil rights leaders.. who helped shape the religious and political infrastructure we all benefit from today. His faith inspired a commitment to the fight for equality and human rights for all Americans.
He spoke for justice and advocated for the disenfranchised."
Former Baltimore mayor Kurt Schmoke stated: "A giant has fallen. He affected thousands of lives in our community and was a positive life force."
A firehouse in Baltimore was named in Bascom"s honor.
Membership
He developed a 49-unit apartment complex, Douglas Village, for disadvantaged members of the community, and established a summer camp for underprivileged children.
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Born
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Died
March 17, 2012 (aged 87) -
Nationality
United States