From Darkness to Light
By Bro. Benard Betha
It’s been a long time coming. That is the answer that I give people when they ask me why I decided to be healed into the Prince Hall Affiliation. I was Entered, Passed, Raised, Arched, and Knighted in the National Compact Affiliation. When I decided that I wanted to seek membership in Freemasonry, I did my fair share of research. I found that as an African American man, I needed to seek membership in Prince Hall Masonry, so right away I ruled out Modern Free, International, Federated, and Scottish Rite. All of them I recognized as bogus right away. What I did not know was that there were two groups of African American Masons calling themselves Prince Hall.
I had several friends as well as family members that were made Masons in Smooth Ashlar Grand Lodge of Georgia National Compact Prince Hall Origin. All of them were not active, and none of them knew what the differences between the two “Prince Hall” Grand Lodges were. Just when I thought that that Grand Lodge might not be the best place for me, I met a brother whose lodge was under Smooth Ashlar. This was a good brother by the name of Al Price. He took me and two other brothers that were interested out, and just talked about masonry with us. He answered every question that we had to the best of his ability. When it came to the questions I had about the PHA lodges, he told us that there was no difference. He said that PHA was not recognized by any other Masons and that Masons under Smooth Ashlar were recognized all over the world. It was later that I found out that he was just reciting what was taught to him by older brothers in his lodge which was Burkshire #664.
When my petition was accepted, my investigation consisted of me and five other brothers taking the Senior Warden to dinner and drinking, while he asked us questions. This was a really charismatic brother who talked a good game. He told us about how we had made the right decision by coming to Smooth Ashlar. He told us he knew many PHA brothers and witnessed them being beaten during initiations in the middle of the night in graveyards. He told us how he was admitted into Mainstream meetings, while PHA Masons were turned away. He told us of how Smooth Ashlar has a charter to work and PHA Masons don’t. He told us that PHA Masons can only be Masons in the state that they live in, and if they leave the state they are not Masons. We were told that PHA Masons have to be forty five or older to hold any office. Upon hearing all of this, we were happy that we decided to become Masons in Burkshire Lodge under Smooth Ashlar.
We six brothers received our EA degree, along with the lecture for that degree. That was all we learned for a year. The lodge did pretty much nothing but argues about money, and listen to the Past Masters preach in the lodge and occasionally some would catch the Holy Spirit during the meeting. Three of the other EA’s left during this time, but three of us refused to give up. During that year a few more EA’s joined our class. One guy who joined with us had been an EA for more than two years. It was not that we were not proficient, but rather they could not get together enough to run the lodge. Six of us were passed and raised in one night, in a poor excuse for degree work. There was a lot of stumbling and book reading. We were told that we were lucky it was not a PHA lodge because we would not learn any ritual, but would only be given a Catch question book.
Upon being raised we were given positions right away. We were not elected, but rather we sat in seats for the brothers who had stopped coming to meetings. It was around this time that I started asking questions about the historical background of the National Compact and Smooth Ashlar. All of my questions were dodged, or some answer was made up with no references to back it up. I asked why PHA Masons say they are the only legitimate Black Masons, and why they say they have a Charter from the United Grand Lodge of England to prove it. I was told that PHA was lying, and that the charter was no longer valid. I searched the internet for any history of the National Compact, but there was nothing to be found. I was also given a copy of the official history of the National Compact written by Brock. It told of how the Compact came about, how a split came about in 1877 which created State Rite Masons (PHA). It also says that the only legitimate black Masons are FAAY Masons. I was filled with joy to have some printed material to back me up when other Masons called me bogus, not real, irregular, and unrecognized. This happened quit often.
It was around this time that I decided to create an internet e-group on yahoo.com for people who wanted to talk about the National Compact, PHA, and mainstream Masonic relations. The group grew rapidly, and I found that there were many that were seeking the same information. I was first praised by many in the Compact for building websites and starting the e-group. It was one of the first times that the Compact got recognized in public. All of the praise went silent when the topic of history, legitimacy, and recognition came up in the group. PHA Masons such as Brothers Ralph McNeal, Ezekiel M. Bey, Joe Snow, and David Gray started posting the true history of the National Compact along with references to back what they posted. I went head to head with many of those brothers. Some of the debates got quit heated. I defending the National Grand Lodge’s history many times alone, but later I was joined by Brother Cedric Lewis of Mississippi. My good act of trying to defend the National Compact against what I thought at the time were unjust attacks, was met with a stiff reprimand from Smooth Ashlar Grand Lodge. I was completely confused, and asked what I did wrong. I never received and answer. I later received many emails from the “special deputy” of the Grand Master threatening to suspend me if I did not censor or shut down the e-group. I asked for help from some of the grand officers in my lodge, but all agreed with the Grand Lodge. I was told that some how I had shamed my lodge. I informed the “Special Deputy” of the Grand Master that I could not control what brothers posted on the group nor could I shut it down. The truth was that I was learning too much, and I did not want to be thrown back into darkness. I telephoned Brother Cedric Lewis in Mississippi and informed him of my situation. I requested that he take over the group. He was in another state and out of the jurisdiction of Smooth Ashlar Grand Lodge.
After my run in with the Grand Lodge and my near suspension, I decided to lay low for awhile and secretly gather information on my own. I received an email from Brother Ralph McNeal who I thought was my enemy at the time who to my surprise informed me that many mainstream Masonic Libraries had information on the Compact. He told me that all I needed to do was call or write them and request information. Upon calling the Iowa Masonic Library, I received copies of nearly everything that they had on the Compact in the mail. I had everything that I need to show that the National Compact was an irregular body from the beginning as well as information the lead me to believe that the body that calls itself the National Compact today is not the same body that was formed in 1847.
Even with the information that I had in my possession, I still remained a member of Smooth Ashlar Grand lodge. I felt that I had gone too far. I was Senior Warden of Burkshire Lodge #664, I was worthy patron of Charity Chapter #134, I was a member of King Solomon Royal Arch chapter, and Yorkshire #8 Knights Templar Commandry. I was comfortable. That is until I started to see the things going on in Smooth Ashlar behind the scenes. The first was the missing money in the Grand Lodge. Our lodge would pay taxes to the Grand Lodge and the money would disappear. We would go a whole year without traveling cards, new members never receive certificates. Every event that the Grand Lodge had was an undercover fund raiser. Collection plates were passed around like a church service. Smooth Ashlar Grand Lodge sessions were like street riots, with brothers asking where all the money was. The checks that Smooth Ashlar wrote for the hotels for the session bounced two years in a row. In 2002 the Grand Master expelled the Grand Treasurer for “single handedly” cleaning the entire treasurer out. The total was something close to $100,000. The other Grand officers wanted us to believe that there was no one else involved. I didn’t buy that for a second.
I witnessed many things in Smooth Ashlar Grand Lodge that made me ashamed to be a member of it. I have seen countless occasions of degree selling. For the right price you can achieve any degree that you want. For the low price of $85.00, thirty five Master Masons were given the Mark Master Mason through the to the Knight Templar degrees in a one night class. There was a huge uproar at the following Grand Lodge session about the incident, but it was not about the fact that it was wrong. The problem was that some of the Grand officers did not get their cut of the money. At that time the Shrine of Smooth Ashlar also decided that they would double their price and make any of those brothers Shriners under the table. There was never any control over who was getting degrees and if they were qualified for them. I know for a fact that one of the brothers in the one day York Rite class got all the degrees, the Consistory degrees, and then the Shrine and no one knew where he came from. It later turned out that he was an Nwabian follower of Malachi York. He took all that Smooth Ashlar had to offer and delivered it to Dr. York. I later witnessed this same brother being allowed to pay the overseer of the Grand Lodge hall to hold his own clandestine meetings in the hall. They knew very well that he was an Nwabian clandestine Mason, yet they took his money and gave him full access to the hall. This should not have really surprised me, because I witnessed many brothers from bogus lodges allowed access to meetings in Burkshire and other Lodges under Smooth Ashlar. Any man with grips and passwords was allowed entrance. When any of us would object, we were told that “a Mason is a Mason.”
I have to also touch on the subject of Smooth Ashlar’s much hyped military lodge. The lodge was introduced at the grand Lodge session of 2002, with no explanation of where they came from. They were marching around like a military unit wearing black military jumpsuits. The strange part was that during the session they accompanied Grand Master Campfield everywhere. I later found out that they were assigned to be his personal body guards at the session. The Grand Tyler also wore the military jumpsuit and carried a drawn sword. He no longer guarded the door, but now was never to leave the Grandmaster’s side. The Grandmaster now had his own military outfit, complete with general’s stars on the collar. In the Smooth Ashlar Master Mason and OES workshop this year, during the Grand Masters opening address to a room full of Masons of various degrees and Eastern Stars, GM Campfield stopped talking and threw up the Grand haling signs of distress of a certain degree in plain view of everyone. The doors of the auditorium were thrown open and the military lodge ran in from different directions and surrounded Campfield. What was the reason for this display? He once again wanted to show off "Georgia’s first military lodge," as he called it. I have no idea where they get this claim, but I would guess that they did what they do best, they made it up. I never remember a charter being granted at any Grand session. The members of this “military lodge” are not even in the military. They say that the term “military lodge” comes from their requirement that the members be connected to the military. It does not matter what that connection is. You could have been in the military at one time, high school ROTC, or even just work on a military base. I met one brother who gained membership because his wife was once in the Army. This lodge is a joke, but fits in very well with the rest of Smooth Ashlar.
With all of this craziness going on in SAGL, I decided that I had enough. I wanted to be in an environment that allowed me to practice Masonry the right way. I wanted to be a member of a lodge that was allowed to do things right, and not do things because that was how they used to do it. I wanted to be a part of a Grand Lodge that had a real history and followed the landmarks of Freemasonry. SAGL made up fictional versions of both. I contacted Brother Ralph McNeal and inquired how I might be healed in Georgia. He put me in contact with Brother Joe Snow who is Grand historian for the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand lodge of Georgia. Brother Snow told me what I needed to do to be healed and he got me stared on my way. I went back to several members of Burkshire Lodge and told them of my intentions. I was surprised to find out that most of them wanted to be healed also. In all there were fifteen of the twenty four brothers that wanted to be healed. Upon us all talking, we worried that an existing lodge might be over whelmed by so many brothers being healed at once. We then came up with the idea of being healed as a lodge. That is where we stand today. An entire lodge healed into The Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Georgia PHA, by the Honorable Willie Williams Grand Master. We changed the name of the Lodge to Exodus Lodge, because we all felt that we had escaped a state of bondage by the grace of God.
I say to any brother that is a member of a bogus or irregular lodge. Don’t let anyone stop you from seeking the truth about that affiliation. If someone advises you to stop looking, that should make you look all the harder. If you know that illegal and un-Masonic practices are going on in your lodge or grand lodge don’t ignore it, get away from it. Don’t get comfortable there like many of us did. Don’t stay there because your father or grandfather was a member as many of us did. Every adult man must walk his own path, and your father and grandfather would surely understand that. What you are practicing in that clandestine atmosphere is not Masonry. It is a sad attempt at copying true Masonry. Many say that if all African American Masons could unite we would be a mighty force, and I agree. I pray that all worthy brothers will find their way to true Masonry. This is found in the Prince Hall affiliation. I finally feel that my eyes are open and I am at home.
Fraternally,
Brother Bernard Bethea
Exodus Lodge UD PHA