As, Masons and men, 99% of the time we socially engage with the outer world. The other 1% we contribute to our Masonic lodges studies of the philosophy of Masonry, active in civic groups, the community and fellowship as well. Sounds pretty normal. However, somewhere we lost sight of that agenda..

I was reading a book called "Fraternal Organizations" by Alvin J. Schmidt, and in his book there is a chapter that speaks on the psychological aspect of fraternal organizations. He speaks on the need for some men to belong to these fraternal organizations to escape the everyday norms of life. Some join to enhance ones social life, which gives the opportunity to network or connect with others, who would otherwise remain perpetually at a distance. For others, there is need to become important. To have a position that seems significant to other men who might not have that same status. To hold a title within a fraternal organization, gives one a sense of power and authority beyond regular membership.

 Titles can be used two ways: 1. To be utilized constructively for the benefit of the membership and the community. 2. To be misused and abused for personal and selfish means. In my tenure as a Mason, I have witness use of a title bestowed upon a brother in both ways.

 From the perspective of an African American Mason, It becomes a serious problem when the title is used in the latter. It has become a trend in the organization to play unnecessary politics, which compromises the harmony among Brothers and allow animosity to exist and triumph in our daily intercourse with one another. Many men have ignored this problem and it has grown quite significantly throughout the various Masonic jurisdictions. This obsessive behavior for "limited" power has caused us to lose focus on the needs of the community and the individual members of our Brotherhood.

I find this particular issue among men who in their personal lives lack intellectual, economical or social growth. Men who feel they have not achieved in their personal life, but has gain within the brotherhood a status of importance like Worshipful Master, Excellent High Priest, Commander and Chief, Thrice Potent Master, Most Wise and Perfect Master, Grand Inspector General or Illustrious Potentate. Attaining these colorful and rich titles are a joy and a honor, but they are limited to the group and have no importance to anyone outside that group because the lack of understanding and visibility of those particular leaders. What makes these titles more effective? When one's personal growth outside of the group becomes more intellectually, economically and socially enhanced. By doing so, the titles that one bears only compliment him based on his personal achievements.

It is said, "It is the internal and not the external qualifications that recommend a man to Masonry." Sounds good, but realistically, if a man internal was of such quality it would inevitably show in the external qualities of a man. One's internal growth has to be expressed externally, and it is expressed through his educational attainments, economic prosperity and social environments.

Freemasonry seeks to make "Good Men Better". It is not a haven for redemption or rehabilitation for those who have strayed from society norms and codes for acceptable behavior within society. This is not a place for the thief, murderer, drug dealer, child molester, absentee parent, or one who perpetuate domestic violence within his household. Most importantly, it is not a place for "Niggers"!

"Ni**er" yes the "N" word, which many associate this word with African people however this word is universal and can be applied to anyone or any ethnic group. Unfortunately, those that I am in constant communication with are African American and therefore this metaphor would be applied to some who I have met, heard about or known for quite some time. When one allows "Niggers" to enter the realm of Freemasonry, many problems occur. Those that for some odd reason end up elected to these major positions in the organization put the group at risk of being totally dysfunctional and unorganized.

In my personal experience, I have witnessed men who would be characterized as "Niggers" left the Lodge in financial ruins. Some "Niggers" who preside over Masonic houses, run their house like they do their home very f****d up! These same "Niggers" have allowed more "Niggers" into our ranks only to act as leeches or to see what they can take but not give back. One brother told me that there was a man that came into his lodge to do one thing and that was to wear his father's Masonic ring. Once he got the Master's degree, he never came around. What happened to be inspired by your father's activities as a Mason? What was more disturbing is that it was allowed to happen. We went from providing the essentials for people in the community to selling chicken dinners, raffles, beer blasts and other activities, which is deemed mediocre just to maintain existence nothing more and nothing less. None of these acts have any meaning except for self -indulgence.

In an e-group a statement was posted by Brother Anthony A. Samad a college professor and columnist stated," Black Male Fraternal organizations (Masonic and Greek) have become a total waste of time because of this very mentality. Busy people of important work to save our communities have little time to sit around for hours which "niggers" play important. Most of our lodges, consistories and shrine buildings are in decay--or are located in communities in decay and we act like the world evolves around us, when its crumbling around us. You ask the unemployed gang member, or the homeless man what a Mason, or Potentate, or a Basileus is, they wouldn't be able to tell you. Why? Because it's not important to the condition of their lives and they don't see us as the solution. We, so-called man of "higher knowledge" can't even do for ourselves, much less our communities. We don't have the respect of our youth. Many of our wives (and/or girlfriends) don't see the benefits of our associations, and most view our annual "parades" as fools with titles, playing important--because they can't be important anywhere else except in a lodge or frat meeting. We "meet" just to meet. We recite just to recite. We talk higher ground, but we don't live higher ground.

I was wondering how long it was going to take for someone to see that the emperor has long since been without clothes. We a re no longer "Builders," we are "squatters," meeting in old buildings our elders brought or build decades ago. The most educated generation of Black men in the history of America can't do what our less educated forerunners did 70/80 years ago. How "enlightened" could we be, if we can't figure our how to improve the state of "bricks and mortar." The biggest argument in any lodge is over getting a new building. Men of means reflect their status. Men lacking means also reflect their status. Which ones are we. I got tired of asking the question...and just stopped coming. But God has elevated my status beyond my dreams, and I want for my brothers what I want for myself. And we'd probably have if not for the "ni**ers" in the organization--fighting over nothing other than the next station".

Samad continues in another posting and states, "The 25 years I spent in the craft was fighting to improve the craft, not watching it deteriorate. It deteriorated because not enough were willing to fight to improve. Those who advocate in the order were labeled "rebels" because they wanted change, and young men are always outnumbered but still we pressed on. At 28, I put in place at five-year plan to pay off our Shrine Building, so that we could refurbish it. The old-timers screamed bloody murder, but the Shrine Building has been paid off now for 15 years, and is the newest building on the block. At 30 as President of my Consistory Board, I proposed we knock down our earthquake-damaged building and put up a new one.. Again screaming objection--this time, old timers won- put $600,000 in rehab funds in the building and the building is in not better state than it was before--only now we're paying for a building barely in one of the roughest neighborhoods in L.A. where our seniors are scared to come out at night. I can enumerate five or six other examples, the point is that folk do what they can but if the masses don't move, the organization doesn't.

No one brother can belittle the craft; the craft, as a whole, can only belittle itself. Only a fool will sit up in the middle of something that is going nowhere. They don't stop being Masons, they don't doing the work if they are truly Mason--they just stop the hypocrisy. Anyone who knows me knows I've just taken the lessons learned behinds walls and become more productive outside the walls.

Life is too short to let anybody waste your time--including "niggers fighting for titles." No one is in a position tell anybody to keep their mouth shut. If Masonry is a fraud, those of us who put it to test should be able to say so, and those of you still trying to figure it out can either learn from our experience and stay in the dark, defending the lie. Or you can prove us wrong. Either way, the truth will come to light I'm a Past Master that out here in the world, teaching everyday. The world is my craft and the community is the lodge we're trying to raise. That's a truer demonstrated if we really learned the lessons of empowerment that Masonry purports to convey. A mason's obligation is to change the world, one person at a time--not one station at a time ".