There were issues that led Mason to believe that the military was racist, which got him a Bad Conduct Discharge in 1965. It was later overturned to a Honorable Discharge. Mason later attended Oregon State University; he later lost his scholarship for taking a stand on what he felt as black students receiving racist treatment. Mason was offered and accepted an offer into the Black Panther Party. In 1970 he orchestrated the Black United Farmworkers Union support committee. In 1976, he ran for Monterey Peninsula Unified School Board District but was unsuccessful in doing so. Mason later ran for governor in 1982 for the state of California and as deemed off the ballot, for his involvement with the Socialist Workers Party, he was investigated for his voting by the FBI. In 1984, he ran for president but was unsuccessful running as a candidate from the Socialist Workers Party and received 24,681 votes. Mason was successful in a claim against the FBI and their counter-intelligence program used against the Black Panther Party.
Mason later moved to New York and he participated in the Anti-Apartheid Coalition during 1986, he aided the largest Anti-Apartheid demonstration in the history of the movement with 300,000 participating. Later he returned to Seaside, CA and was a co-founder of the Regional Alliance for Progress Policy during the early part of the 1990s. He was know internationally known visiting the "Maori people of New Zealand" and he was a guest of "Grenada Prime Minister Maurice Bishop". Not to mention he visited "Sinn Fein in Ireland" and the "Aborigines in Australia".
Mason later moved to New York and he participated in the Anti-Apartheid Coalition during 1986, he aided the largest Anti-Apartheid demonstration in the history of the movement with 300,000 participating. Later he returned to Seaside, CA and was a co-founder of the Regional Alliance for Progress Policy during the early part of the 1990s. He was know internationally known visiting the "Maori people of New Zealand" and he was a guest of "Grenada Prime Minister Maurice Bishop". Not to mention he visited "Sinn Fein in Ireland" and the "Aborigines in Australia".
· Mason was the youngest player in the military to be named All-Air Force for basketball.
· In Europe he led all braches in scoring and in 1964 he was named Air Force European Command Player of the Year. · All-time leading scorer and rebounder at Monterey Peninsula College · Mason was the only All-American Player in Monterey Peninsula College · Inducted into the CCCAA (California Community College Athletic Association) Hall of Fame for being outstanding basketball player |
· President of the Monterey Peninsula, CA branch for the NAACP
· Mason wrote an auto-biography titled,” Mel Mason: The Making of a Revolution” · Co-founder of the Village Project with his wife Regina · Co-founder of the Regional Alliance for Progressive Policy during the 1990s · Received Civil Rights Legacy Award for NAACP |