a Communist and be a Caucasian. By the late 1970s the all-white provision had officially been rescinded, but, because the Order used the blackball to admit new members, it was difficult for minorities to gain membership. In 1979 the FOE tried to get a lawsuit dismissed that alleged it was violating the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by not allowing African Americans to use their athletic facilities. The article stated that a local Eagle official could only cite Joe Louis as a black member of the FOE. In 1979 the Order had 800,000 members, a figure said to have been relatively constant over a decade. In 2011, it had 850,000 members in the main organization and 250,000 members of the women's auxiliary. As of 2019, membership is open to any person of good moral character, and believes in the existence of a supreme being, and is not a member of the Communist Party nor any organization which advocates the overthrow of the United States government. Currently, either gender can become a member of an Aerie, however, only women can become a member of an Auxiliary. In recent history, numerous Aerie chapters have absorbed their Auxiliaries to form one unified chapter that allows all genders, to which the Grand Aerie and Grand Auxiliary responded with enacting a law that any Auxiliary members who wish to leave the women's only chapter and join the Aerie, must be a non-member of the entire organization for one full year, which has discouraged countless members from doing so. The FOE no longer uses secret passwords or "roughhouse initiation" rites. But, in 1979, it still had a ritual. The prospective member was asked to promise before God and on his honor, not to disclose the rituals of the Order to anyone outside of the FOE. The initiation took place in a lodge room furnished with an altar and a Bible and included religious phrases and prayers. The FOE had an insurance program in its early years, but discontinued this in 1927. Instead it offered sick and death benefits for members who would pay higher fees. Therefore, the FOE now has two membership categories, beneficial and non-beneficial. Charitable giving "People helping people" is a statement that guides the charitable actions of the Fraternal Order of Eagles and has led the Eagles to donate more than $100 million annually. As part of the charitable philosophy, the Eagles give