For those of you who follow me & my blog, I finally landed on my feet several months ago after several years of adversity (in West Virginia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Texas) that can only be described as just foolishness.
In my last post on this topic in January 2014, I had mentioned petitioning to affiliate with a subordinate lodge of the Grand Lodge of West Virginia, a Grand Lodge with leadership that has made it un-equivocally clear that Black men will NOT be accepted as members (even though I have heard scuttlebutt that there is at least one Black member in this territory, there has been no verification provided). I simultaneously had submitted petition to affiliate with another West Virginia lodge, a lodge in Pennsylvania, and the United Grand Lodge of England.
The second West Virginia petition was never turned over to the lodge secretary by the Brother that was entrusted to deliver it to said Secretary at their next stated meeting... we later found out that that Brother is questionable, and he is now kept at considerable length. What this aspiring Grand Lodge of West Virginia ass-kisser did NOT know is that I AM personally acquainted with a number of members of that lodge he now belongs to who were expecting the petition for affiliation I sought to submit. What he also did/ does NOT know is that I have previously been examined and sat in that particular lodge in West Virginia long before he ever became a member of it... go ahead and chuckle, I did!!!
I had also attempted to petition to affiliate with a subordinate lodge of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania and was given some malarkey about needing a waiver of jurisdiction from Grand Lodge of West Virginia (a rule that only applies to a petitioner, not someone who is already a Master Mason). This information was provided by someone claiming to be a DDGM for the 29th Masonic District in PA who clearly doesn't know as much Masonic Law as he purports to know. Had he checked, his own Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania had already cleared me to be able to petition for affiliation in their territory. This is why I always question so-called experts, who clearly need to be up on their facts or they wouldn't mind being asked an honest question.
I have previously held membership in the Grand Lodge of North Carolina & the Grand Lodge of Texas, having left both for nothing that amounts to more than Masonic politics that I chose to have NO part of.
My current Grand Lodge that I hold membership in is the United Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of England.
As to be expected, this move comes with controversy from both Prince Hall Affiliated & Mainstream members here in the United States of America. This is the first time I have come under criticism by members of both bodies simultaneously. All I can do is shake my head... clearly, ignorance knows no bounds and ignorant describes a large number of persons (not all) that seek and are rewarded with positions in Grand Lodge officer lines.
While I have been no stranger to controversy in the past, the fact that anyone has an opinion or seeks to dictate where I should hold membership is the piece of this puzzle that never makes any sense for me on a personal level.
I will part for now so that I can get back to my genealogical research that relates to formation of the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of West Virginia, formed by lodges originally chartered and warranted by the MW National Grand Lodge of Free & Accepted Ancient York Masons National Compact (a fact that MWPHGL of WV openly denies, which proves they don't even know their own history) and other work on the Grand Lodge of West Virginia.
Fraternally,
Raymond Sean Walters a/k/a Renaissance Man
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