Bascom was born in
Pensacola, Florida, to Mary Anderson and Bruce Bascom. He had four children, the eldest of whom
Bernadette Bascom, became an R&B singer. Bascom attended grade school in Pensacola at the Spencer Bibbs school. This was followed by
Booker T. Washington High School,
Florida Normal and Industrial Institute in
St. Augustine, Florida, and
Howard University in Washington, DC. He also attended
Wesley Seminary and Garret Biblical Institute and became a Reverend. He started his ministry in
St Augustine, Florida, where he developed feelings about the problems among the black people at his church and elsewhere. He was asked to come to Baltimore in 1949 to join the
Douglas Memorial Community Church, which is the oldest in Bolton Hill. This church was an independent, after splitting from Bethel A.M.E. in 1925. In addition to his religious leadership, Bascom served on the board of directors of the Reginald L. Lewis Museum, and was a leader in the founding of "Associated Black Charities". Bascom served as Baltimore's first black fire commissioner, and organized a
Meals on Wheels program for the community near his church. He developed a 49-unit apartment complex, Douglas Village, for disadvantaged members of the community, and established a summer camp for underprivileged children. ==Civil rights leadership==