H 5775

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026
Bill 5775
Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter
(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)
A house RESOLUTION
TO COMMEND DR. JANET HARRISON MASON
ON THE OCCASION OF HER NINETIETH BIRTHDAY, CELEBRATED JUNE 14, 2026, AND TO
RECOGNIZE HER EXTRAORDINARY CONTRIBUTIONS TO EDUCATION, THE ARTS, AND COMMUNITY
SERVICE IN SOUTH CAROLINA AND BEYOND.
Whereas, the South Carolina House of Representatives is pleased to
honor Dr. Janet Harrison Mason, whose distinguished career as an educator,
scholar, arts advocate, and community leader has enriched countless lives over
more than three decades; and
Whereas, in 1974, Dr. Mason began her teaching career at Woodrow
Wilson High School in Long Beach, California, where she transformed a single
dance class into a thriving multicourse program that has grown into one of the
nation's largest dance programs at a nonperforming arts high school; and
Whereas, after returning to her native Fairfield County in 1993, Dr.
Mason taught at the University of South Carolina from 1993 to 2007 and served
as a consultant to Fairfield County Schools, where she identified the absence
of dance and performing arts instruction. She successfully established a dance
program at Fairfield Central High School, helping secure the arts as a
permanent component of the district's curriculum; and
Whereas, in recognition of her lasting impact on education, Dr. Mason
was inducted into the Fairfield County School District Hall of Fame in 2015;
and
Whereas, upon her return to South Carolina, Dr. Mason was selected as
a scholar in the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education Holmes
Scholars Program and, while teaching at the University of South Carolina,
earned her Doctor of Education degree in Curriculum and Instruction in 1996.
She was also the recipient of the University of South Carolina's First-Place
Dissertation Research Award; and
Whereas, Dr. Mason's commitment to service extends beyond education
through her memberships in Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated; The Links,
Incorporated, where she served as president of the Harbor Area Chapter in Long
Beach, California; and the Harrison Family Reunion, one of the nation's largest
and longest continuously meeting African American family reunions, for which
she has been a dedicated leader and planning committee member for decades; and
Whereas, in 2004, Woodrow Wilson High School established the Janet
Mason Dance Scholarship in her honor, providing annual support to promising
dance students and reflecting the enduring influence of her educational legacy;
and
Whereas, Dr. Mason is the author of My Soul Looks Back and Wonder, a
memoir chronicling her journey from a segregated and impoverished childhood in
Fairfield County to earning a doctoral degree and becoming a respected educator
and leader; and
Whereas, Dr. Mason and her late husband, Cephus Harold Mason, devoted
themselves to White Oak Baptist Church in Winnsboro, a historic congregation
founded in the nineteenth century by her great-grandfather, Peter Harrison, and
four other formerly enslaved African Americans. Dr. Mason served faithfully as
church clerk for many years, while her husband served eighteen years as
chairman of the trustee board; and
Whereas, Dr. Mason's lifelong dedication to education, the arts,
faith, family, and community service exemplify the highest ideals of leadership
and public service and has left an enduring legacy for future generations. Now,
therefore,
Be it resolved by the House of
Representatives:
That the members of the South Carolina House
of Representatives, by this resolution, commend Dr. Janet Harrison Mason
on the occasion of her ninetieth birthday, celebrated June 14, 2026, and
recognize her extraordinary contributions to education, the arts, and community
service in South Carolina and beyond.
Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be presented to
Dr. Janet Harrison Mason.
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This web page was last updated on August 11, 2026 at 03:25 PM