The Founder, Dasol Mashaka, was raised and mentored by Americans born from the generation of the 1870s - 1920s in Oklahoma. His life is symbolic of what AAMOBOYS is achieving. Dasol Mashaka was born in 1944 on a subsistent farm east of Boley, Oklahoma to Doyle G. McGhee of Murray, Kentucky and Johnnie Lee Barnes of Boley, Oklahoma. His World War II father was in the Army in Europe, and his mother worked in the city while Dasol lived with his grandparents.
Dasol then attended Tulsa's all-Black Booker T. Washington High School and graduated in 1962. He was mentored by the high school drafting instructor, Cal Johnson, as he excelled in academics and sports. He also earned an income working evenings and weekends at Bill Woods Café, a small Black owned business in the heart of the Greenwood Black business district. Dasol was also influenced by the pride of Oklahoma - the Oklahoma University football team. The team was tops in the nation, because it allowed all Americans to participate based on their ability, especially African Americans, when other universities in the southwest and south did not.
Dasol then attended Tulsa's all-Black Booker T. Washington High School and graduated in 1962. He was mentored by the high school drafting instructor, Cal Johnson, as he excelled in academics and sports. He also earned an income working evenings and weekends at Bill Woods Café, a small Black owned business in the heart of the Greenwood Black business district. Dasol was also influenced by the pride of Oklahoma - the Oklahoma University football team. The team was tops in the nation, because it allowed all Americans to participate based on their ability, especially African Americans, when other universities in the southwest and south did not.
He moved to Compton, California at age 17 in 1962 and worked in a factory while attending Compton Community College. This community college was academically ranked No. 1 in the national during that period. He took time off for active duty in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves, and returned to the college and met his wife, Los Angeles native Paulette White. He received his AA Degree in mathematics and later received his Bachelor of Architecture Degree, in 1972, from California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) in San Luis Obispo, California. He was the first African-American to graduate from Cal Poly with a Bachelor of Architecture Degree. While head of the Black Student Union at Cal Poly, he recruited Black faculty and students. He met his career mentor at Cal Poly, Carey K. Jenkins, F.A.I.A., a prominent Los Angeles African American Architect on one of his visiting lectures. These college times would shape Dasol's activism and involvement from the influence Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King.
Mr. Mashaka’s professional career includes architectural design, project management and construction contracting with some of the world's leading architectural and construction companies. He has played a key role on billion dollar landmark projects and has also owned a construction company. He also published the Priorities of Life Chart in 1984. Dasol Mashaka has work experience in California, Texas, Illinois, Missouri, The Middle East, London and Athens and has traveled in Africa, Europe and Asia.
His wife of 55 years, Paulette White Mashaka, is a retired 4th grade teacher and currently an elementary school reading specialist. She is a graduate of California State University, Dominguez Hills and an avid tennis player. Dasol and his wife have three children. His eldest son, has an undergraduate degree from Morehouse College and is a Harvard Law School graduate. He practiced law in Los Angeles as well as becoming a real estate developer and restaurateur. He is currently living abroad with his wife and two sons in Barcelona, Spain. and the owner of Barcelona High School. Mr. Mashaka's daughter, is a Human Resources and Accounting Consultant in Los Angeles and has authored a children’s book “Tennis Day”. She is a MBA graduate from George Washington University, Washington, D.C. with an undergraduate degree from The University of California, Santa Cruz. She is married with two daughters. His youngest son is a graduate of California State University, Stanislaus, co-owner of LMC Human Resources and ResumeGeek.com in Las Vegas. He is married with two sons and one daughter.
