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Saturday, December 02, 2006

In South, Masons stay divided

Did you know there were two types of Masons?

Well an article from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette talks about two groups of masons and it's divided according to race, mainly black (Prince Hall Masons) and white. And this was even mentioned in the Alabama campaign for governor this year as the incumbent Governor Bob Riley was asked about the failure of the grand lodge of Alabama to recognize the Prince Hall Masons...

In Alabama, where critics say Grand Lodge members rejected a move to recognize black Masons in 1999, a few white Masons have formed a group outside the old system.

The issue also has become political, with Democrats accusing Alabama's governor of racism for his membership in an all-white lodge. Riley said he didn't know there were two separate Masonic groups and hadn't heard of mutual recognition until questioned recently by an Associated Press reporter.
Of course Alabama wasn't the only ones who doesn't give recognition to the Prince Hall Masons. There are also the states of Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia.

I want to add that giving "mutual recognition" is not a new concept...

The all-black lodges flourished alongside their white counterparts. White Masons in Washington state, briefly considered admitting Prince Hall Masons in 1890, Mr. Bessel said, but the resulting uproar kept most such proposals on hold until 1989, when the Grand Lodge of Connecticut passed a resolution formally recognizing black Masons.

Since then, 37 other state organizations have granted mutual recognition.
Well the article talks about Prince Hall masons, but there are better articles out there on this subject.

LINKS
Who is Prince Hall?
Prince Hall Grand Lodge
Prince Hall
Prince Hall Freemasonry

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