The Universal Language of Freemasonry - ArchiMeD - Johannes ...

Chapter 3 - Overview of Rites 101
it has to be admitted that several of its colorful, pompous offices may only
soothe the demand for prestige within the Order's own ranks. Black Masons are
able to gain job experiences that were denied them from the white society for a
long time, for example in the field of jurisdiction. The Order with its own
fraternal trials served as an example, for the techniques learned there could also
be applied in black communal life:
One of the most important social roles in the American system of selfgovernment
is concerned with the judicial process, specifically with the
jury trial; and it is in the area of conducting Masonic trials that the
fraternity performs one of its most significant functions. The Order is
based upon an extensive body of laws and regulations; and in the
interpretation of these laws, members of the fraternity learn to play the
role of judge, juryman, advocate, prosecutor, and witness. Through this
activity Masonry compensates for the lack of knowledge in the black
community about how to administer justice. 278
Furthermore, black Masonry brought with it the opportunity to acquire skills
needed in different administrative jobs. The various lodge committees, e.g. for
charity, burial, benefit, etc., had to be led and organized. Prestigious jobs that
were withheld from the blacks in the white society could be filled within the ingroup
by black Masons. From secretary to manager there were countless
possibilities to prove one's talent:
The Prince Hall fraternity offers many opportunities for members to
learn and exercise the business skills the Order values so highly.
Besides the internal operation of the local and Grand Lodges, the
fraternity engages in a host of business undertakings, all of which
involve the membership, and especially its leaders, in business decisions
and management. [...] [M]ost Grand Lodges have established some kind
of relief, charity, or burial program, each working on a different system
of collection or distribution for the benefit of the members, their
widows, or orphans. These programs constitute major financial
undertakings requiring great skill in their successful operation. Such
programs provide a vast number of opportunities for ambitious and
talented blacks. 279
We have already noted that a good rhetoric was instilled in the lodge
members. Those interested in a further development of these qualities could try
their luck in the field of journalism and editing. Lodge journals offered the
opportunity of developing one's faculties in creative writing:
278 Ibid, p. 125.
279 Muraskin, p. 129.