Black Freemasons and Racism
Updated: Jul 21, 2021
written by: Hon. Tyrone J. Montgomery Sr. 33°
If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother."
July 11, 2021
Hello Brothers and Sisters,
I bring you greetings from the Most Worshipful National Grand Lodge, Free & Accepted Ancient York (Rite) Masons, Prince Hall Origin, National Compact, USA, the Commonwealth of Bahamas, and the Caribbean and The National Grand Master, the Honorable Lee Singleton 33°.
As a black man, the shooting deaths of black people is not news, as a Freemason it strikes a chord deep in my heart and the heart of Freemasonry. Freemasonry is based on tolerance, acceptance, the basic requirement is one’s belief in a supreme being. Ultimately Freemasonry is a fraternity, a brotherhood, according to its precepts this fraternity is open to all. As a freemason we use the teaching of a person’s volume of sacred law (book of faith) to make ourselves better men. Despite freemasonry being based on religion, black freemasons have faced opposition in the United States since its inception.
The Constitution of the United States speaks of freedom and equal rights for all men. however, we know those rights and protection have been denied to blacks for centuries. From this country’s acceptance and promulgation of slavery to its ¾ of a man compromise, gaining equal rights continues to be an uphill battle, even today in 2021. Likewise, the principles of Freemasonry teach tolerance, liberty, equality, brotherhood, and the prospect of bettering oneself, its principles were denied to blacks, in fact black Freemasons was only recently recognized by the mainstream Freemasons despite having been around since 1775.