A Publication for Prince Hall Masons Who Seek More Light & Have Light To Impart VOL. XXXIX NO. 1 FIRST QUARTER 2012 BROTHERLY INFLUENCE Reclaiming Our Prince Hall Identity Prince Hall Freemasonry’s Lasting Martin Luther King, Prince Hall Mason? Impression on African-American Fraternal Orders United States Naval Ship Medgar Evers VOL. XXXIX NO. 1 FIRST QUARTER 2012 FROM THE PRESIDENT 4 A New Year, a New Look, and a Renewed Vision By John B. Williams Brother President introduces a radical redesign for The Phylaxis, as well as the Masonic Sites National Database. Short Takes 5 Masonic Sites Frequently Asked Questions The purpose of this program, and what you must do in order to get your Masonic site listed onto our database. FEatures 6 Reclaiming our Prince Hall Masonic Identity By Brian C. Sanchez Brother Sanchez’s clarion call for Prince Hall Affiliated Freemasonry into the new millennium. 8 U.S. Naval Ship Medgar Evers By Stephen Hill, Sr. Civil rights leader and Prince Hall Mason, the late Medgar Evers, is honored with a U.S. naval ship in his name. Martin Luther King, Jr., 16 a Prince Hall Mason? 10 Review of 1st International Masonology 11 Convention Registration Symposium: Freemasonry and Brotherhood Due to our recent venue change to the Hilton Garden By Dr. Robert L. Uzzel Inn at Jackson, MS, we needed to update our convention Brother Uzzel’s review of this publication from the registration form. Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Turkey. 12 Souvenir Ad Form g ) g We need members to solicit ads for our journal in order R a.o P - to subsidize the convention; the cost of which is not ll 16 Martin Luther King, Jr., a Prince Hall a H e covered in full by early-bird registration. C By Burrell D. Parmer n Mason? pri a ( a Brother Parmer investigates the truth behind one of I van Prince Hall Masonry’s greatest myths. L 13 Transportation Request Form y The Jackson Airport is remote, so take advantage of S this special offer provided by Stringer Grand Lodge Pennof L g of Mississippi. WPH By Dr. Ron Kelly m 20 Brotherly Influence y S Brother Kelly’s extensive historical research on Prince te ur Hall Freemasonry’s influence on other African- On the Cover: Prince Hall Co ; ss e American fraternal orders. Masons and Odd Fellows come R together at the laying of the y of Cong of y R cornerstone for Wesley Union a AME Zion Church in Harrisburg, ibr y U.S. L U.S. y PA on October 18, 1914. Turn S Connect with us online at THEPHYLaXIS.ORG te ur to page 20 for more on their o and FaCEBOOk.COM/THEPHYLaXIS.ORG connection. C Image Page 2 • 1st Qtr. 2012 Appointed Officers Conventions — Robert Campbell, FPSH Convention Venue — Harold Bendaw, FPSH Convention Agenda — Ulysses Cooper, FPSH Convention Protocol — Hubert Reece, FPSH Commission on Bogus Masonic Practices — Ralph McNeal, FPSH The Phylaxis Editor — John B. Williams, FPS The Phylaxis Associate Editor — Brian C. Sanchez, MPS A Society for Prince Hall Photographer — Alexander Brumfield, FPSH Freemasons who seek more light, Curator — Lawrence Haley, MPS Resident Agent — Roy H. Althouse, MPS and who have light to impart Webmaster — John B. Williams , FPS Database Administrator — John B. Williams , FPS ELECTED OFFICERS PHYLaXIS PROGRaMS John B. Williams, FPS . President Awards and Honors — D. Obadiah Nelson, FPSH Director ; Ulysses Cooper, FPSH, Administrator [email protected] Scottish Rite Research Institute — Eji Nwuke, MPS Director ; Ulysses Cooper, Ulysses Cooper, FPSH . 1st Vice President FPSH, Administrator [email protected] York Rite Research Institute — James “Rocky” Dallas, FPSH Director ; Ulysses Larry Moore, FPSH . 2nd Vice President Cooper, FPSH, Administrator Lux e Tenebris Research Chapter — Tommy Rigmaiden, FPS Director; Larry [email protected] Moore, FPSH, Administrator Harold H. Bendaw, FPSH . Treasurer Prince Hall Art Commission — Junis Johnson, MPS Director; Larry Moore, FPSH, [email protected] Administrator Alex L. Smith, FPSH . Executive Secretary Book Store — Ralph McNeal, FPSH Director; Larry Moore, FPSH, Administrator [email protected] Phylaxis Gift Shop — Ulysses Cooper, FPSH Director; Harold Bendaw, FPSH, Administrator Jessie Watkins, FPSH . Financial Secretary MyCart Online Shopping — Tyrone Jackson, FPSH Director; Harold Bendaw, [email protected] FPSH, Administrator Warren Broomer, FPSH . Board of Directors, Chairman Phylaxis Imprint Book Publishing — Daryl Andrews, FPS Director; Harold [email protected] Bendaw, FPSH, Administrator Digital Archives — Stephen Hill, FPS Director; Alex Smith, FPSH, Administrator Howard Harvey, FPSH . Board of Directors Visual Archives — Joseph L. Collins, MPS Director; Alex Smith, FPSH, [email protected] Administrator Edward B. Darnell, FPSH . Board of Directors Masonic Sites — Gregory C. Hatton, MPS Director; Alex Smith, FPSH, [email protected] Administrator Wilbert Curtis, FPSH . Board of Directors Phylaxis Chapters — Ras Cannady, FPS Director; Jessie Watkins, FPSH, Administrator [email protected] Public Communications — Garland A. Osborne, MPS Director; Jessie Watkins, Robert Campbell, FPSH . Board of Directors FPSH, Administrator [email protected] Funding and Grants — Richard Fields, MPS Director; Jessie Watkins, FPSH, Administrator MaIL CORRESPONDENCE TO: COUNCIL OF REPRESENTaTIVES The Phylaxis Society Robert N. Campbell, FPSH — President Post Office Box 5675 Alton Roundtree, FPS — 1st Vice President Albuquerque, NM 87185-5675 Ezekiel M. Bey, FPSH — 2nd Vice President The Phylaxis magazine is the official publication of The Phylaxis Society. Damajo Smith, FPS-H — Assistant Vice President for Memberships Articles in The Phylaxis magazine are received from many sources and Eddie V. Crews, FPS-H — Assistant Vice President Life Memberships sometimes reflect opposing views. The views and opinions expressed in this Ricky C. Godbolt, MPS-Life — Region I Vice President Jerome Rapley — FPSH Region II Vice President magazine do not necessarily reflect those of The Phylaxis Society, its Board of Ray Coleman, Jr., MPS — Region III Vice President Directors, or its staff. Articles appearing in this publication express the opinion Mark McGraw, MPS — Region IV Vice President of the writer; they are not official pronouncements of the Phylaxis Society. Frederick S. Jones, FPSH — Region V Interim Vice President, Council Secretary Membership Information Jerome Rapley, FPS-H — Military Members Contact Please address membership inquiries to the Financial Secretary at the address Kenneth Brown, MPS — Louisiana D. Obadiah Nelson, FPS-H — below. The membership fee is $35.00 per year, which amount includes a Adrian V. Cooley, MPS — Illinois California subscription to The Phylaxis magazine for one year. Any regular Mason may Tyrone D. Jackson, MPS — Illinois Abdullah A. Salahud-Din, MPS — become a member of The Phylaxis Society. Individuals and organizations who Clary E. Glover, MPS — Texas Oklahoma & Italy do not qualify as members may become subscribers. Kenneth E. Harris, PhD., MPS — Bruce Benjamin, Jr., MPS — Wisconsin South Carolina Subscription and Membership: $35 per year Craig Wallace, MPS — Virginia/Florida Gregory C. Hatton, MPS — MaIL RENEWaLS aND NEW MEMBERSHIP TO: Spencer Brown, MPS — Arkansas Massachusetts The Phylaxis Society Robert D. Cassidy, FPS-H — Byron T. Maxwell, MPS — Mississippi Washington Roy H. Althouse, MPS — Kansas Post Office Box 5675 Julius Nash, MPS — Mississippi Edward C. Mitchell, MPS — Albuquerque, NM 87185-5675 Christopher B. Randall, MPS — New Mexico Copyright © 2012. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced Missouri Dedjaran Dunbar, MPS — or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, or stored Joseph W. Durham, MPS (NPHA) — Arkansas in any retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher. Ohio Brian C. Sanchez, MPS — Indiana Alonza Tehuti Evans, MPS — Raymond Sean Walters, MPS — The Phylaxis Society is not a spokesman for Freemasonry District of Columbia W. Virginia/ N. Carolina (Prob.) Page 3 • 1st Qtr. 2012 From tHe PResident Hon. John B. Williams, fPS A NEw Year, A NEw LooK, and A RenewEd VisioN here is no need to mention the change in the format read the article in this magazine, take your camera to your of our magazine: the change is not a subtle one. We lodge, make a photograph, and send it to us. If you are able to get owe this new design concept to a very special the GPS coordinates, send them to us also, and give us a little brother, Brother Brian Sanchez, MPS, out of the information about your site and who meets there. If you are Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Indiana. We welcome missing something, you can add it later, so send us what you TBrother Sanchez. We have been so delighted with his work that have as you get it. If you don’t have the GPS coordinates, give us he is now the Associate Editor of The Phylaxis magazine. Let’s the mailing address and we can get the coordinates from a thank him and wish him well in his Masonic travels. mapping program. It would help if you could do that for us, Our 2012 convention will be hosted in Jackson, Mississippi in though. To view Masonic Sites, start on the Phylaxis Society’s March by Most Worshipful Grand Master Maurice Lucas and the home page, click the link for the GO TO PHYLAXIS SITE, then members of Most Worshipful Stringer Grand Lodge of Mississippi, click OUR PROGRAMS, and you will find a link to the Masonic PHA. By the time you receive this magazine, the deadlines will sites database, which is http://thephylaxis.org/phylaxis/ all be upon us, so there will be little time to procrastinate. If you siteDisplay.php. Report any website problems if you find any to can come, we will be happy to see you. All first time attendees to [email protected]. Report any new Masonic sites the Phylaxis convention, please seek me out when you arrive data to [email protected]. and introduce yourself. Also, show your support of the Society We will feature letters to the editor when we get them.