Yesterday the Grand Lodge of North Carolina officially passed by a vote of 642 yeas to 328 nays the Resolution for Mutual Recognition of the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of North Carolina and Its Jurisdictions, Inc., according to an article posted on Bro. Chris Hodapp's blog on Friday."Bravo, brethren. Bravo," he wrote.
Brother blogger Palmetto Bug, a Mason working under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of South Carolina, writing in the comments section to the announcement, responded to the news by saying, "The train wreck continues," evidently refering to the past decade's trend towards recognition between maintream Masonry and Prince Hall Masonry.
The Grand Lodge of South Carolina, along with those of nine other states — all in the South — still remains steadfastly against mutual recognition between mainstream and Prince Hall Masonry, much to my continued embarrassment. I am a member of a Georgia lodge working under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Georgia.
Besides South Carolina and Georgia, the mainstream grand lodges of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee and West Virginia do not recognize Prince Hall Masons as "true and lawful brothers" or as even being Masons.
Within moments of my being raised a Master Mason in a Georgia lodge several years ago, I was official told, while the ceremony was still being conducted, that I was not to hold "Masonic discussion with clandestine Masons, and the only clandestine Masons that we know of are the black Masons."
I join with Bro. Chris and open-minded Masons throughout the world in saying "Bravo!"to the North Carolina Masons who have joined the 21st century by finally accepting brother as brother, based not on the color of his skin but the content of his heart.
Masons | Masonic Recognition | Southern Racism | Freemasonry | Grand Lodge of North Carolina | Burning Taper | BurningTaper.com
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