2011 Elected and Appointed Officers

Clarence Baker, Worshipful MasterMichael Essien, Senior Warden

Isiah Draine, Junior WardenJames McCoy, TreasurerJohn E. Fuller, Secretary

Robert Jackson, Assistant SecretaryRufus Johnson, Editor

Rollie J. Paul, Jr., Senior DeaconJason Joseph, Junior Deacon

Floyd Henson, Senior StewardMarcus Mitchell, Junior Steward

Joseph C. Houston, MarshalRonald D. Maloney, Chaplain

Eric Williams, Tyler

WORK OF THE RESEARCH LODGE IS ACTUALLY DONE THROUGH ITS COMMITTEES

Editing & Review Committee PM Otis RoundsArticle Solicitation and Research Committee--PM Essien, PM Williams

Publication Committee--PM Johnson

NEXT MEETING WILL BE Wednesday September 14, 2011 at 7:00 p.m. at Good Hope Hall,

610 - 55th Street in Oakland CA

Masonic Review Golden State Prince Hall Research Lodge

Free and Accepted Masons, a Subordinate Lodge of theMost Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge, F&AM,

State of California, IncorporatedVolume VI Issue Two June 7, 2011

Most Worshipful MasterJ A Kirk

“Mergers & Acquisitions”:The Research Lodge’s First Collection Experience

by Brother Aaron Washingtoni

On March 29, 2011, the Research Lodge was honored to acquire on behalf of the Grand Lodge a collection of “Proceedings” from PM Samuel “Sweet Sam” Williams, No. 73. The collection is to be catalogued, restored as needed, preserved, displayed, and researched for the benefit of the entire Masonic Family. Acquiring a collection of what amounts to donated artifacts was a first for the Research Lodge, and required preparation, which was accomplished by the author. A Donor Questionnaire form, a Temporary Receipt of Objects form, and a Deed by Gift form, as well as a Property Inventory form, were created and used. Materials required to properly catalogue, protect, and store these artifacts had to be obtained. This included such conservation tools as storage sleeves, barrier board, comic book boards, text sheets, sheet protectors, and document storage cartons.

The collection consists of 113 editions of proceedings, from twenty-nine (29) different state jurisdictions, plus one from the District of Columbia, one from Ontario Canada, and one from Germany, written in German. Analysis of the 15-page Property Inventory sorted by year shows that 27% were from 1902 through 1908, 16% from 1912 through 1919, and 39% were from 1921 through 1929. Most of the remaining 18% were from the 1930’s, with only four from the 1950’s and one Proceeding from the 1960’s.

Twelve editions are from The Most Worshipful Grand Lodge A.F. & A.M. of Missouri and its Jurisdiction. Eleven are from the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons of South Carolina. Ten are from The Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons

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State of California. The remainders are distributed as follows:

Colorado 6 Georgia 5 Illinois 4 Iowa 4Tennessee 4 Virginia 3 Pennsylvania 3 DC 3North Carolina2 Arkansas 2 Connecticut 2 Minnesota 2Texas 2 Kansas 2 Massachusetts 2 New Jersey 1Delaware 1 Ontario 1 Maryland 2 Ohio 1Washington 1 Indiana 1 Michigan 1 Arizona 1Nebraska 1 Wisconsin 1 Rhode Island 1 Germany 1

Like all collections, this one has a [hi]story. Past Master “Sweet Sam’s Donor Questionnaire explains that he had the collection for 7 or 8 years, that he received it from PM Joseph B. Janisse of Phillip A. Buchanan No. 63, who told him that he (Janisse) had taken them from the Lodge’s assigned storage area in Good Hope Masonic Temple because he wanted to insure that they were not damaged or discarded by mistake.

From this point, the [re]search begins in earnest. We must learn such things as: When did PM Janisse “rescue” the collection from Good Hope Masonic Temple? Since the collection spans some 58 years, who maintained it and contributed to it? What purposes did the collection serve?

The Research Lodge will welcome any help in further “mining” of this treasure trove.

i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: Brother Washington currently serves as Senior Warden of Bayview Lodge No. 64. He is a member of the Research Lodge. He was raised in October 1989 in J.H. Green Lodge No. 113 while still attending Alabama State University, his alma mater. He currently works for the National Park Association as Ship’s Manager of the USS Pampanito Submarine Museum, which is located at Pier 45 in San Francisco. His field of work currently is in an historic preservation and interpretative materials and maintenance program.

Did you want to see me broken?Bowed head and lowered eyes?

Shoulders falling down like teardrops,Weakened by my soulful cries?

Does my haughtiness offend you?Don't you take it awful hard

’Cause I laugh like I've got gold minesDiggin’ in my own backyard.

You may shoot me with your words,You may cut me with your eyes,

You may kill me with your hatefulness,But still, like air, I’ll rise.

Does my sexiness upset you?Does it come as a surprise

That I dance like I've got diamondsAt the meeting of my thighs?

Out of the huts of history’s shameI rise

Up from a past that’s rooted in painI rise

I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.

Leaving behind nights of terror and fearI rise

Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clearI rise

Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,I am the dream and the hope of the slave.

I rise, I rise, I rise.EDITOR’S NOTE: Prince Hall Masons “Rise” against the three Ruffians one of which is this one--oppression.

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calculated risk the British were willing to take was knowing that their sublime principles of Freemasonry—liberty, equality, fellowship--were equally potent tools of revolution against the same established order which they fostered. They learned to skillfully “ride the back of the Tiger.” Empire contains seven direct references to Black Freemasonry, discussing such subjects as Prince Hall, or the debate over the term “free born” and free blacks. But its much greater value for today’s Prince Hall Mason is gaining a deeper understanding of the institution of Freemasonry itself—seeing its vivid colors of universalism or cosmopolitanism. It is important to be able to imagine that lodge of Hindus in India opening their lodge of Master Masons in their native tongue.

Presence likewise goes on a journey which every Prince Hall Mason should be required to take in order to understand more fully the essential efforts Black People made to achieve liberty during and after the Revolution. It weaves a vivid tapestry of Black dedication and courage--from the martyrdom of Crispus Attucks, through Concord, through discussion of images of back-to-Africa.

It describes Prince the Organizer beginning at page 202, and refers to him and his organization nine more times, but that alone is more like an appetizer. The tapestry, shows you Reverend Absalom Jones, Reverend Richard Allen, and other Freemasons. You see how they used the tenets of Freemasonry as that same promissory note Doctor King presented again for payment during our lifetime. It is a tapestry we all must revisit

Still I Rise

BY MAYA ANGELOU B. 1928 Maya AngelouYou may write me down in history

With your bitter, twisted lies,You may trod me in the very dirt

But still, like dust, I'll rise.

Does my sassiness upset you?Why are you beset with gloom?

’Cause I walk like I've got oil wellsPumping in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns,With the certainty of tides,

Just like hopes springing high,Still I'll rise.

WORSHIPFUL MASTER’S REMARKSCheck out Prince Hall’s Letter Book

Appendix G of Dr. Charles H. Wesley’s Prince Hall Life and Legacyi contains a reproduction of Prince Hall’s “Letter Book”, which was originally published in 1900 in volume 13 of Ars Quatuor Coronatorum at page 56 (AQC 13:56), in an article also entitled “Prince Hall’s Letter Book” written by M. W. Brother William H. Upton. The Letter Book is described by PM David L. Gray as the most informative contemporary documentation of Prince Hall’s writingsi. The Letter Book contains 300 pages and has been bound by hand. It is handwritten likely by Prince Hall, on Foolscap-size pages (possibly aslarge as 13 in x 16 in) on quality writing paper. Foolscap refers to the paper’s watermark. Apparently, his custom was to copy onto these pages letters which he had written before he sent them to others, and then to record their responses. Therefore, it contains correspondence to and from Prince Hall, some of which has been authenticated beyond question by comparing them to originals now in the possession of the United Grand Lodge of England. You can access records of many of these letters yourself online directly from the Library and Museum of the United Grand Lodge of Englandi. The Letter Book also contains an account of the activities of African Lodge from 1782 to 1806. There are several other documents, described as ‘minutes’, which refer to lodge activities overlapping this period, but their reliability is suspect, according to Walkes.

Prince Hall Masons also need to know more about the cataloguer of the Letter Book, Worthy Brother WILLIAM H. UPTON, A. M., and LL. M. He was Grand Master of Masons in the State of Washington. In 1899, he published a paper on the recognition of Prince Hall Masonry which stands as a historic monument within the Craft; speaking to the issue of “the Level” among Mason's, despite the contrary attitudes more typical of that time. It was entitled, “LIGHT ON A DARK SUBJECTi, being a critical examination of objections to the legitimacy of the Masonry existing among the Negroes of America.”

His work on the Letter Book is universally relied upon. Walkes, Wesley, Gray and other Prince Hall scholars use it. The entry I found very compelling was number (9) in Appendix G, where Prince Hall asks Bro. William Moody, his contact in London, to send him “the last Constitution and the Mason’s mnemonics.” Mnemonics are aids used in doing memory work, including ritualistic memorization. Harry Carr’s “Early Masonic Catechisms” features several of the kind of memory aids Prince Hall was seeking. Prince Hall expected the brethren of African Lodge 459 to use the latest memorization techniques available to “know their work”.

__________________________

i You can order it through Dr. Sonny Drew’s Regalia at www.dsonnydrew.comi Inside Prince Hall, by David L. Gray, page 19i Use www.freemasonry.london.museum for the Library and Museum of the Grand Lodge of England. Most of his correspondence begins with call numbers GBR 1991 HC 28/A/ followed by an identifying number.

i Also titled, Negro Masonry: Being A Critical Examination Of Objections To The Legitimacy Of The Masons Existing Among The Negroes Of America

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History of

Acacia Lodge No. 7 F. & A.M., Prince Hall Jurisdiction

Oakland, California

“The Oldest Prince Hall Masonic Lodge in Oakland California”

2010 - Acacia's 111th Anniversary

The nucleus for this Lodge came from the old lodge name Mount Hamilton. Sojourners of this Lodge were Masons from the East Coast pioneering to the West Coast.

C.L. Morton was the first Worshipful Master of Acacia Lodge, which then was called Acacia Lodge No. 22 U.D. (Under Dispensation). This U. D. Lodge petitioned the Most Worshipful Sovereign Grand Lodge of California at its 45th Annual Communication, held in Alcatraz Hall in San Francisco, California on June 19, 1899. Most Worshipful W. H. Maudlin was Grand Master, and during this communication Acacia’s number was changed from No. 22 to No. 7.

This Lodge of 22 members was dedicated on August 2, 1899, receiving its warrant dated July 31, 1899 at Giers Hall, Oakland, California. The warrant was signed by Grand Master, Edmond A. Clark, Senior Grand Warden, W.A. Strickland, Junior Grand Warden, Israel McKee and Grand Secretary, Frank Jackson.

Since its inception, Acacia Lodge has had many of its members serve as Grand Lodge Officers. Acacia has the honor of having two Lodges in the Jurisdiction of California and Hawaii named after two of its distinguished members, Past Master, W.J. Anderson and Past Master, Elias (Eli) Baker. Past Master, Elias (Eli) Baker served Acacia Lodge as the Tyler’s Station for more than thirty years. Past Master, Baker was a steadfast Brother and was well known as being extremely versed in the general knowledge

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Past Master Harold D. McGhee served as Lodge Treasurer for fifteen years. He later attained the Stationof R.W. Senior Grand Warden; he now wears the distinct title R.W. Senior Grand Warden Emeritus. In 1902 Past Master, Charles L. Morton served the Grand Lodge as Junior Grand Warden. In 2006, 2007and 2008 Past Master, Willie Dee Humphrey was elected to serve the jurisdiction as R.W. Grand Lecturer. In 2004 - 2005 Past Master, Herby Price, Jr. was elected to serve the Jurisdiction as Most Worshipful Grand Master. In 1962, 63, 64, 65 and1966 PM. Walter C. Taylor was elected to serve as Most Worshipful Grand Master.

The erection and completion of the present Masonic Hall during the 1920’s, at the corner of 30th and Myrtle Streets, was accomplished largely from the �inancial support of the Brethren of Acacia Lodge.

For the past sixty-one years, the Brethren of Acacia has hosted its Annual Mothers Day Breakfast. This event was adopted by the Lodge as a means for the Brethren to thank and honor our wives and widows for their many years of faithful support and to remind them that they are not forgotten.

January 1, 2003, the members of Walter C. Taylor Lodge No. 36, which was then named West Gate Lodge No. 36, constituted May 22, 1922, merged with Acacia Lodge no. 7. Prior to merging with Acacia Lodge, Walter C. Taylor Lodge then named West Gate Lodge No. 36)) merged with W. J. Anderson Lodge No. 57, which was constituted in 1948. The new lodge was named W. C. Taylor Lodge No. 36.

Acacia Lodge is progressing exceeding well, �inancially sound; enjoys strong membership support and has a very bright future. It receives excellent support from its adopted Chapter, Queen Esther Chapter No. 4., Order of the Eastern Star, which was Chartered in 1900, making it the oldest Prince Hall Af�iliated Chapter in Oakland, California

From the Archives

TWO BROADER VIEWS OF PRINCE HALL FREEMASONRY(Book reviews)

Those who have searched online for information about Prince Hall or about Prince Hall Freemasonry know that tons of information is out there and available at the touch of a very few keystrokes. Much has been written about both subjects. Many talented, well informed writers throughout history have been drawn to these two compelling subjects. The reader’s challenge is deciding which sources are the most fun to read, the most reliable, and also provide new information or at least information from a different point of view.

You might want to check out Builders of Empire: Freemasons and British Imperialism, 1717-1927,i orThe Black Presence in the Era of the American Revolutioni. Both books provide broader places from which to view both Prince Hall and Black Freemasonry—one from that of the British colonial empire, and the other from that of the Revolution as a whole.

We are taking a dynamic rather than static approach to history by searching for answers to three questions:(1) Why did Sergeant J.R. Batt invite those fifteen free ‘Africans’ on March 6, 1775 to Castle William (now Fort Independence) in Boston Harbor to be initiated into British Military Lodge 441, and why, upon the Regiment’s leaving some two-weeks later, did the Worshipful Master leave them with a “Permit” to continue certain functions of a Masonic Lodge?(2) How did Sergeant Batt’s actions fit in the broader scheme of the British Empire?(3) What did Prince Hall and other ‘Africans’ expect to gain from their commitment to Freemasonry, as a part of the American Revolution?

From Empire we see how Freemasonry was an integral part of the expansion of the British Empire. We see the variety of roles Freemasonry played, from being a prominent part of the pomp an ornamentation of British Royalty, to facilitating communications between the colonial structure and their indigenous subjects. Army units like Sergeant Batt’s served in the Caribbean, in India, in Ceylon, in Burma, in Africa. They were cosmopolitan, as was Freemasonry. They understood well the practical meaning of “universalism”. One dispatch from a delegation of high officials from the Grand Lodge proudly described how five Books of the Law were proudly displayed upon the Altar in a Lodge in India. The

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