The Ku Klux Klan and Freemasonry in 1920s America

It is rare that I post on books that address troubling aspects of Freemasonry's role in society. There are several reasons for this, none of which include a desire to avoid controversy or to avoid critiquing Freemasonry. The fraternity is a human institution ana as such it is no more above reproach than any other sphere of human experience. Beyond that, no small number of books critical of Freemasonry have historically been of questionable accuracy and of more questionable intent.

This book however, deserves a read. Now more than ever. It must be remembered that even an institution that historically strove to scrutinize its applicants thorough is likely to not always do so well. One that emphasizes familiarity and presumes a level of character can sometimes be blinded. We all know that in the Southern United States, many though not all masons had been involved in the Confederacy, including some of the most influential. 

Not all who enter Freemasonry truly embody Freemasonry's aspirations and values. Unfortunately, some have not only misrepresented themselves to the fraternity but to themselves as well. This book, without intending to besmirch Freemasonry, applies its own standards of honesty and self-reflection to understand and make clear one of Freemasonry's more troubling  moment. It also demonstrates how the fraternity was able to remain faithful in the longue dure to its true principles.

From the publisher's site:

The Second Ku Klux Klan’s success in the 1920s remains one of the order’s most enduring mysteries. Emerging first as a brotherhood dedicated to paying tribute to the original Southern organization of the Reconstruction period, the Second Invisible Empire developed into a mass movement with millions of members that influenced politics and culture throughout the early 1920s. This study explores the nature of fraternities, especially the overlap between the Klan and Freemasonry. Drawing on many previously untouched archival resources, it presents a detailed and nuanced analysis of the development and later decline of the Klan and the complex nature of its relationship with the traditions of American fraternalism.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1 – Klanishness: Brotherhood in the Invisible Empire

Chapter 2 – Freemasonry’s Fighting Brother: Militancy, Fraternalism and the Ku Klux Klan, 

Chapter 3 – Kluxing America: The Use and Abuse of the Masonic Reputation

Chapter 4 – Hate At $10 a Package: Selling the Invisible Empire

Chapter 5 – Hooded Freemasons: Dual Membership and Conflict in Local Lodges

Chapter 6 – Dallas Klan No.66 and Anaheim Lodge No.207: A Case Study of Two Communities 

Chapter 7 – Friend or Foe? Grand Masters’ Responses to the Ku Klux Klan

Chapter 8 – The Collapse of the Second K.K.K.

Conclusion - An "Invisible" Empire?

This book may disturb some Freemasons, perhaps it should. The instution of Freemasonry in all its varieties needs be reminded that we are not perfect, but hopefully in the process of becoming better. Part of that work is committing to writing a more accurate and probing history of our craft. And reading it.

See Routledge's page on this book

Bantu Religious Traditions in Africa and the Americas: a course

Many do not have a clear idea of the roots and character of Bantu spirituality nor the extent of its influence in the Americas. Indeed, many view the terms Bantu and Congo (or Kongo) as synonymous. While they are related, synonymous they are not.

There are many Bantu ethnicities each with their own languages and religions across most of subsaharan Africa. The BaKongo with an important historical kingdom was one of these, and happens to be the one that left a significant mark on African derived religious traditions in the Americas.

While Bantu religions in Africa shared many similarities, they also had significant differences, and thus should not be considered interchangable. Few actually had any significant impact on New World practices.

There are also many speculative attempts to classify their practices. For better or worse, modern attempts claim a scientific character to them, or to Khemeticize them.

After having received requests to do so, I am planning a course to explore many of these themes.

"The King of Congo and the Bantu Roots of Afro-diasporic traditions" will look broadly at the diverse Bantu practices in Africa, from initiations to divination. It will also explore the Congo influences in the Americas from carnivals to spiritual practices. Along the way we will touch on the reasons for C or K in Congo/Kongo, and what that difference is not.

Cost for the course is $250. Email  to register. As with all my classes all lectures and written/graphic materials are delivered asynchronously so that you can participate on your schedule and can review materials often.

A New Raprochement: The Church and Masonry

Cardinal Calls for Permanent Dialogue with Freemasons

Following a closed-door meeting in Milan, Cardinal Francesco Coccopalmiero reportedly said he believed ‘an evolution in mutual understanding’ had taken place between masonry and the Church over the past 50 years.

https://www.ncregister.com/blog/pentin-cardinal-calls-for-permanent-dialogue-with-freemasons?amp

 

Gender and Transgender in Masonry: Evolution in Advanced Societies

Género y Transgénero en la Masonería: Evolución en sociadades avanzadas.

Gender and transgender in Freemasonry seem to be unrelatable concepts. However, Freemasonry as a social movement that has crossed the barrier of centuries of existence, is not impermeable to changes in society.

It has been able to adapt very well to them, although for archaic mentalities such ideas represent a taboo or red line that should not be crossed much less talked about. LGTBIQ+ groups and feminism have been interrelated with each other, and they have also done so within Freemasonry.

That is what this work is concerned with, demystifying, making visible and self-criticizing the institution from within from a microsociological, constructivist and, why not, deconstructivist perspective of sex and gender relations. It makes visible, through a mixed methodology (quantitative and qualitative that includes statistical analysis and four case studies: France, Spain, Portugal and Ecuador as advanced societies understood as democratic) the formation of behaviors, prejudices, stigmas by which masculinity prevent the humanization and total incorporation of everything feminine, even in the case of trans women.

Género y transgénero en la Masonería parecen conceptos que no se pueden relacionar. Sin embargo, la Masonería como movimiento social que ha traspasado la barrera de los siglos de existencia, no es impermeable a los cambios de la sociedad.

Ha sabido adaptarse muy bien a ellos, aunque para las mentalidades arcaicas sea una especie de tabú o de línea roja de la que no hay que hablar. Los colectivos LGTBIQ+ y el feminismo se han interrelacionado entre sí, y también lo han hecho dentro de la Masonería.

Es de eso que se encarga esta obra, de desmitificar, visibilizar y autocriticar la institución desde adentro bajo una perspectiva microsociológica, constructivista y por qué no, deconstructivista de las relaciones sexo y género. Visibiliza, a través de una metodología mixta (cuantitativa y cualitativa que incluye la estadística prospectiva y cuatro casos de estudio: Francia, España, Portugal y Ecuador como sociedades avanzadas entendidas como delocraticas) la formación de los comportamientos, los prejuicios, los estigmas que desde la masculinidad impiden la humanización y total incorporación de todo lo femenino, inclusive en el caso de las mujeres trans.

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