- Date Of Birth: November 29, 1974
- Date Of Death: September 29, 2018
- State: New York
It was November 29th, 1974 when Jonathan George Mason-Kinsey (named after the Soledad Brother, George and younger brother Jonathan Jackson) began his journey in The People’s Republic of Brooklyn at Kings County Hospital. He was born to Beatrice Chase and Odell Mason but it was Beatrice’s second union to Bernard “Pop” Kinsey that nurtured and guided his growth. The Fourth child of 6, Jon was a scholar, athlete, music connoisseur and part-time roughneck with a kind heart, protective spirit and keen eye for justice. Jonathan was raised in East New York where he attended Public School 202 and Intermediate School 218. As a young man, he was a member of the Lynvette Jets football team, as well as, the Brooklyn Wizards (coached by the late Irving J. Falk), and his uncle Henry Kinsey’s Branch Foundation.
Always a brilliant student he scored high enough to choose between the specialized high schools Brooklyn Technical, Stuyvesant and The Bronx High School of Science. He chose Brooklyn Tech High School where he participated in the Black Student Union and developed his fashion taste. After graduating, he went on to receive his Bachelors of Arts from the prestigious Historically Black College Lincoln University, class of 1996.
After graduating from Lincoln University Magna Cum Laude, Jon, following a childhood goal of becoming a lawyer, went on to attend Howard University Law School. While at Howard Law he became president of The Law Review, joined the brotherhood of Alpha Phi Alpha Inc., and met his future wife Natalie Brown. In just another shining example of Jonathan’s brilliance, Jon passed the New York State, Connecticut bar exams on the first attempt, making him certified to practice law in those two states, a rare feat to accomplish. Jonathan, the first in his family to become a practicing attorney, worked at real estate law firms in Connecticut and Staten Island before starting his own all Black law practice Scott, Mason-Kinsey & Hart, LLP in the DUMBO section of Brooklyn, choosing real estate to be of service. One of their milestone cases was the federal lawsuit filed against the New York MTA for discrimination against two black women who refused to cover or remove their religious headdress, or “khimar”. The successful completion of this case opened up legislation which now allows employees to wear khimar or kufis without having to remove or cover them up while working. They also handled cases for major Black organizations such as the Black Veterans for Social Justice, Carver Federal Savings Banks, among others.
In 2006 he was diagnosed with the neurological disorder Multiple Sclerosis. During the beginning of his diagnosis, his wife Natalie gave birth to a baby boy, Marcus Mason-Kinsey. Marcus was also born on November 29th, which according to Jon excused Natalie from buying him a birthday gift for the rest of his life. Jon waged a 12 year struggle with this ailment before making his transition back to the essence.
He was preceded in death by his brother Odell and sister Crystal.
He leaves behind his wife Natalie, his son Marcus, his mother Beatrice, his mother and father in-law Rick and Carmen Brown, his brothers, Rich, Jamed, Omare, Dameon, Darryl, and Arthur (Chubby), his sisters Karen, Joni, and Donna, nieces Coreen, Cortrice, Merikessa, Shannon, Crystal, Amara, Aaliyah, nephews Bryan, and Akineze (godson) and a whole host of aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins, sisters in-law, brothers in-law, family extended and friends.
