chgregory

My Brothers,

My first reaction is to say the GL that recognized Prince Hall Masons would be likely to ignore any expulsion from the GL of KY because Bro Martin was acting with the GL of NY's tenets, but that is the reasonable man test and frankly we can't always apply that test to this sort of issue.

Had I been Bro Martin, I believe I would have demitted from that lodge in KY that was still practicing racism when I was relocated by the service.

I think a lot could be told by reading the emails, not saying the GL of KY would be right in any way, just that you could make some better conslusions.

My very first question was what brought this to the attention of the GL of KY and what attempts to resolve the issue were made on either side.

Overall the issue is based in old ways of thinking. I have a friend who is a mason in the deep south and when he came to visit here I invited him to attend lodge. He asked me if we had black masons here, and I said we do they are mostly in the Prince Hall Lodges, but I have met some in Norhtern VA regular lodges. He said he had best not attend because if his GL found he had been seated in a lodge with Black Masons he would be expelled.

At first I thought he was kidding, I have known this man for well over 40 years and he has not a single racest bone in his body, he believes in the brotherhood and friendship. I would never, ever think ill of him, but that evening, I told him that was wrong on so many levels, and he agreed. He also said he could not stand to be expelled from his lodge and could not take such a chance. I reassured him that our lodge is part of the GL of VA and that we live within the rules of our GL, and that I could not see such a thing happening, but he stood fast and we missed the meeting and he missed sitting in lodge with some very good men and masons.

The problem was not my friend, Bob, it was his fear of brothers telling him he was no longer welcome in his home lodge. He is retired from the Army and is a very good man, but fear will make a good man bend.

This is the second time I have heard of this sort of thing happening, and it saddens me, but it does not cause me to give up on Masonry or even on the GL of any state that still adheres to racest views, because even as masonry is here to make good men better, I believe we each have an obligation to help make the order better.

Walking away or accepting bad policy is not the way a better man should act, and we as men striving to be better should not allow old rules that no longer make much sense to be carved in stone. I have read about MW Brother Haas and now Brother Martin.

Is all of this a good arguement for a central Grand Lodge oversite committee, who could mediate in this sort if issue or even an overall authority for all mason in the USA? I don't truly know the answer to that question, but it is interesting to consider what it would take to resolve such an issue.

I am very proud of the GL of VA and I have the pleasure of setting in lodge, valley, chapter and shrine with some of the GL officers from here. I can't for one single moment picture them being involved in such actions as these two cases, and yet the gentleman officers of other jurisdictions reached their positions because they are good men and somehow the actions were taken.

Please accept my most humble regrets for damage done to you Bro Martin, and I will keep you in my prayers for a safe return and a positive outcome of this issue.

S & F,

__________________
Cliff Gregory, 32