title: Freemasonry in Black and White
author: Charles M. Harper Sr
description: Charles M. Harper Sr., B.L.A., M.P.S., is a Master Mason from the under the Constitution of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of the State of Illinois, as well as the United Grand Lodge of England, who is active in the Craft Lodge as a Lodge Officer. He is also a member of the York Rite Bodies, the Scottish Rite as a Speaker and a Writer for the Valley of Chicago, the Allied Masonic Degrees as an Officer, and a member of the Shrine. He is also an honorary member of both African Lodge No. 459, and The Hiram Revels Congressional Consistory no. 4142, United Supreme Council, Prince Hall Affiliated, Southern Jurisdiction. His focus is always towards education and enlightenment. He is a writer for the Living Stones Magazine, a magazine for Freemasons, www.livingstonesmagazine.com. His personal journey in Freemasonry is one that is unfortunately not unique, but also not widely known either. After petitioning and being accepted to an irregular lodge in 2004, and becoming a clandestine Master Mason in 2005, and ultimately becoming informed and ultimately educated about the irregularity of his masonic standing by his father and other notable masons, with determination to seek the truth, the author traveled a road through history, philosophy, and racism, to become a regular Master Mason in 2010. Being a man of bi-racial heritage, both black and white, he learned of things not spoken of in mixed company, or publically, until the age of the internet where masons from one side of the world have begun to speak with others as never before. Looking to be a bridge builder for future generations of Freemasons in closing the social gaps between Masons, Charles has placed the lessons he has learned in writing to inspire conversations for the betterment of the fraternity of Freemasons.
zlib_text: Black Freemasonry
  “Eminently qualified to write about black Freemasonry,
  Cécile Révauger depicts with great accuracy how the split
  of American Freemasonry along racial lines arose and
  how it still persists, despite some progress within
  contemporary society. She also perfectly analyzes why it
  still remains difficult today to overcome prejudices,
  which are part of a legacy from the Founding Fathers.
  Her remarkable impartiality provides a balanced analysis
  of the present situation. Cécile’s work is an important
  addition to the world of scholarship as well as part of an
  effort to continue to build bridges in Freemasonry. I
  warmly recommend this book to every Mason wishing to
  better understand what kind of challenges remain today.”
  ALAIN DE KEGHEL, LIFE MEMBER OF THE SCOTTISH RITE
  RESEARCH SOCIETY, SOUTHERN JURISDICTION
  “In her timely new book, Cécile Révauger offers a fresh
  examination of race, class, and social interaction in North
  America and the Caribbean, through the lens of three
  hund