Masons, with their white aprons and architectural symbols, are part of an age-old order that preaches fraternity, service and faith. Mozart was a Mason, and so were George Washington and John Wayne.
But in much of the South, the Masonic bonds of the brotherhood are being strained by race: Groups operate in a separate-but-supposedly-equal system in which whites typically join one network of Masonic groups, called Grand Lodges, and blacks typically join another, called Prince Hall.
Masons have quietly debated their interracial relations for years, and the issue is increasingly coming into public view. In Alabama, some dissident whites have split from the lodge system, and Republican Gov. Bob Riley's membership in an all-white lodge has drawn fire in his campaign for a second term. In North Carolina, white Masons recently voted down a bid to recognize members of the black group as fellow Masons.