I have been saying for years that if we don’t police ourselves, Freemasonry will wake up some day and find some national print media will sensationalize a provocative, blaring story on the Black discrimination in the Craft and it will wish it had done something about it before hand. That time is now upon us. Does no one else wish to do something instead of sitting on one’s hands?
WASHINGTON POST REPORTS:
Masons’ spat over black inductee spills into court
By GREG BLUESTEIN
The Associated Press
Tuesday, June 30, 2009; 3:36 PM“ATLANTA — There are a few prerequisites for anyone applying to be a Freemason: You must be a man, you can’t be a slave, you must have good character and you must have faith in a supreme being.”
“Those broad rules have allowed some of the more progressive chapters in the centuries-old fraternal organization, such as Atlanta’s Gate City Lodge No. 2, to fill their ranks with diverse members.”
“The chapter’s leaders say that racial harmony was threatened recently when other Freemasons sought to revoke the lodge’s charter for allowing Victor Marshall, who is black, to join up. The dispute has drawn the normally secretive group into a rare public battle. “
“The chapter sued the Grand Lodge of Georgia on June 18, claiming the charges are based on “racial animosity and hatred” and violate the organization’s principles.”
The Associated Press has the same story by the same author.
“The lawsuit claims members then filed “spurious” charges within the state organization against the Atlanta chapter’s leader, Michael Bjelajac, claiming he violated the group’s rules because he allowed a nonwhite man into the group. They say he violated the “Laws of Masonry” and the “moral law,” according to the complaint.”
“The charges seek to oust Bjelajac and revoke the chapter’s charter, according to the lawsuit.”
“The Georgia chapter’s attorneys, who are also Freemasons, said the lawsuit is one of only a handful against Freemason organizations in recent years. In 2008, a West Virginia Freemason leader sued, claiming he was defamed after he changed membership policies to make them less discriminatory and racist.”
Where will the story show up next?
The New York Times makes it a big story with picture:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/03/us/03masons.html?_r=2&ref=us
It’s got to the UK too:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jul/03/atlanta-georgia-freemasons-race
The discussion among many members of the UGLE has been one of horror that American Masons could be so backward and speculation about whether or not they wish to be associated with it. I am on several lists, public and private and they have been abuzz.