I join Bro. Hodapp (who scooped me on this story) in congratulating W. Bro. Joseph Adegboyega on his installation on January 5 as Worshipful Master of Piedmont-Pioneer Lodge No. 685, AF&AM, of Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Bro. Adegboyega is the first black man to be admitted to a "mainstream," traditionally white Masonic lodge working under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of North Carolina, and the only black man to become Master of a traditionally white lodge.
Dr. (he holds a Ph.D. in psychology, and teaches anger and stress management techniques) Bro. Adegboyega is originally from Nigeria, and is a life member of the Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of Canada. When he moved from Canada, where he was raised in 1997, to North Carolina, he was steered towards a Prince Hall lodge after inquiring at local "mainstream" lodges.
He felt that as an AF&AM Mason he wanted to remain with AF&AM Masons in the U.S., and not join a predominantly black Prince Hall lodge. In 2001 he was accepted as a member in Winston-Salem. He progressed "through the chairs," and was installed as the lodge's Worshipful Master earlier this month.
In November, 2003 Bro. Adegboyega published a paper discussing his personal thoughts about the Grand Lodge of North Carolina's failure to enact a resolution to recognize Prince Hall Masonry. The Grand Lodge of North Carolina has continued to refuse to pass a resolution recognizing Prince Hall Masonry in the ensuing years.
His essay closed with:
Every True Mason, who is aware of the need to preserve this organization for future generations, must endeavor to ensure that, North Carolina AF & AM Fraternity is not perceived as a racist organization; by both current or active and prospective members. People within and without are watching our actions and inactions! We need more hands on deck in our charitable efforts to this world and in order to move this world forward in peace and harmony. To wear Masonic jewelry or to occupy an official Masonic position are not indicative of True Masonry. The mind-set and the moral behavior of a member are the necessary ingredients of True Masonry. Any group of men can call themselves Masons without necessarily acting as True Masons. True Masons must be the Light in the darkness for others to follow. Such were the past American Leaders who created this nation to become the envy of the world!
Now that we are taking a step out of the dark ages and acknowledging that all races are equal, when does Black History Month honor the abolitionists?
I hope that isn't too harsh for some of you, but just something I ponder for the good of my ancestors every year as February approaches. Not everyone in the South is or has been (in the last 200+ years) racist.
When we as a body of Masons practice what we preach that it is the "internal and not the external" by which we judge the worth of a man that only then can we live in peace and harmony with ourselves and the Great Architect . On the day we can join hands in the friendship circle, Masonry will rise to the top.
SC? I live in NC. Yeah, I have been looking forward to the day that PHA and AFA are on equal grounds under the GL since the first day I became a Mason and told my coach that I'd be the first to extend my hand.
In fact I didnt see color in people until it was brought to my attention in 4th grade. I didnt see a difference in pigment of skin tone, I'm not talking about racial stereotypes or anything else.
Hence the reason several of my first forum topics here were inquiries about gangs, and noone answered. We have gang problems everywhere, even in rural towns like where I live and work, and I think the bridge between our two groups (once voted in) may be able to bring a stop to these things and I mean a stop, not just a decline. As previously noted in one of these prior topics, a local journalism student interviewed a local gang member (blood or crip) and asked why he was a gang member, and after having relayed all the ways that you can get beaten up for looking at someone wrong or any minute thing, the guy says he's a member because he gets respect even though his own "brothers" nearly beat him to death when he makes a human error. Young kids like this, need masonic influence and need to be taught that fear and respect are two very different things.
But I digress.
The point of my post above, is that I really hate this month. Part of the reason, I feel, that blacks and whites are separated, in general, is because of this month. You spend 11 months out of the year saying "we are equal, we want to be left alone, we don't want attention" and then 1 month out of the year its black history month. Same goes with BET. (And not to be annoying but Black History is focused upon more than just that one month of school, or at least it is in NC, its as equal as any other part of history and is a major focus in the NC history books) It's not racist on my part, its a contradiction. The other point I am trying to make is that Black History Month teaches kids (or at least it taught them when I was in school) that "we did it alone". Harriett Tubman, MLK Jr, etc. It teaches kids separation of races and that just isn't true. When people look at the history of the south they see white supremacists, plantation/slave owners, and slaves. My ancestors, along with the ancestors of many southerners, were abolitionists and worked with the slaves, they WERE the underground railroad and that part of history is not acknowledged. In fact they faced higher punishment for being caught helping slaves get to freedom than any slave did for being caught on the run. And without the acknowledgment of people like Harriet Tubman and the white abolitionists, These kids grow up thinking they have to do it on their own too.
Anyway, sorry about the rant. Obviously here on the network, brothers mingle among all races and I am happy to see that, but society, locally is a different issue. My current employment involves me working out of a pickup and locating gas lines for all of Henderson county (NC), so I see this stuff everyday. I see how whites view blacks, blacks view whites, I see some working together, but most separated. There are few neighborhoods, where blacks and whites live together, most are separated among different blocks. The youth on either side don't do anything to look less menacing or hostile toward one another.
I'l end here. But its something to think about. When the vote passes, I'll be seeking others to help make these changes. It's not just about Demolay and Rainbow (as far as I know, our local groups are defunct anyway), but we need to get out there and change the perception and not to sound like an 80s commercial, but it does start with us.
Unfortunately, my time right now is set between my BL, SR, job, and planning for my wedding. It gives me very little time for anything else (in fact as I write this I am taking a break from designing my wedding invitations).
I have a friend in Durham and its a shame I dont have more time to visit there. Her husband passed away just before Thanksgiving 07 and her son disowned me as a best friend just before then (a maturity issue). If I happen down the mountain towards Durham at any point I'll let you know, my fiancee's sister is going to school in Raleigh too. But until sometime after May, I'm stuck here, as said planning for my wedding.
When I have kids, several years down the line, I plan to recreate the demolay and rainbow chapters here. I'm not sure if you are familiar with Greensboro and JC Parks programs but they had a program when I was preschool/elementary age called Safety Town and it taught all aspects of safety, including teamwork, and created a new generation of law abiding and respecting youth (too bad it wasnt in every town in NC). It brought in police officers of all races to act as mentors in the program. I plan to recreate that program too, hopefully through the lodges.
Yep, I am young, but thankfully so since alot of this will take years to change the ideals of both the community and the older decision makers of the NC lodges. I have many plans this year for our SR including getting local business involvement through plasma drives, making contacts through the local non profit radio stations (we have at least 3 and 1 is across the st from our temple), a brother and I are working on putting a southern rock concert together featuring mason and non mason performers, and doing other community events that will open our lodge to the public.
I agree with you on the Kappa comment. I think its an insult to even call Greek groups, fraternities. Technically, I never understood the title Christian Greek Fraternity since Greeks were Pagans, but that's a whole other topic and oxymoron. College fraternities can be just as bad as gangs on some levels.
Honestly, I'm not good with names or faces. I notice things people dont and just as well people notice things I dont. I also have very little short term memory (but my long term memory ....I can remember stuff that happened to me when I was 2). For instance, I remember people by bone structure at times moreso than physical colors and hair, etc. I'd be of no use to a sketch artist. In saying that, the people you mention, if I had met them, I wouldnt remember their names and to describe them would do little for me. I don't travel to other lodges, I spend alot more time trying to fix or assist in things at my home lodges.
Well, these responses are getting too long, my apologies,
Figured I've lingered for a week, time to take that one step forward here.
Racism is a view that, unfortunately, is taught to us all through a variety of methodologies, all of which are as potentially outdated as is Agism, Sexism, etc. In any structured society, once the structure is firmly in place, it takes great acts of Will, Charity and Strength to discover a wider and greater path to Deeper and Untapped Beauty. Sometimes those acts are seemingly very minor such as extending a hand to help another man rise from where he has been resting perhaps for too long. It can be a kind and generous word said to another in hopes of giving their perhaps defeated sense of the moment a chance to shrug off the weights that had somehow been placed upon.
There are fine lines we must all walk if we are to take guarded consideration against the factioning forces that abstractions such as Racism represent. We must remember Heritage is a thing of pride in many of us, but if we are too accept our Heritage then we must accept *ALL* our Heritage in hopes that we can not only learn from it but so that it can be used to teach others to learn from it as well. We must also realize that as Mason we are a fraternity of Individuals that are striving to build greater and greater degrees of Harmony amongst ourselves.
Perhaps the only real problem with "Black History Month" is that the lessons it should be teaching are either not being taught correctly or perhaps the lessons are being taught to those whom feel they have outgrown the need for them? I'm in Indiana ... I too can and do see racism and culturistic divides still strongly in place in this country and across the world. Perhaps the first step we can take together is the one that reminds us collectively to not only walk upright but to also walk Together.
Cory Sigler
created this social network on Ning. 
