Nineteenth-century American philanthropy, particularly in racially segregated communities, tended to follow the lines of racial community. White philanthropists gave to white institutions; Black philanthropists, when they had resources to give, gave to Black institutions. The structure of segregated society made this the path of least resistance, and the institutions on each side of the racial line had their own needs and constituencies.
Mason’s giving across racial lines reflected a different understanding of what community meant and what philanthropy was for. The churches she supported, regardless of their racial composition, were community institutions that served their neighborhoods in ways that went beyond religious services: they were spaces for community gathering, education, social services, and collective support. Supporting them was supporting the community infrastructure regardless of which specific community was organized within them.
This giving also reflected a practical reality about Mason’s professional life. She had served patients of various backgrounds throughout her midwifery career. The white families she had helped through difficult childbirths were part of her community in a real if unequal sense. The relationships that midwifery built were among the most intimate a practitioner could form: she was present at the most vulnerable moments in people’s lives, and that presence created bonds that persisted. Helping the churches those families belonged to was a form of maintaining those bonds.
## Hayes and What He Did
Judge Benjamin Hayes deserves more attention than he typically receives in accounts of Biddy Mason’s story. His ruling was the legal act that freed her, and his conducting of informal interviews in his chambers was the specific procedural choice that made the ruling possible despite the testimony rules.