Georgia, 2009: a lodge tried for admitting a Black man; non-discrimination voted down (Atlanta, 2009)

SUMMARYGeorgia, 2009: a lodge tried for admitting a Black man; non-discrimination voted down (Atlanta, 2009) [Connections: Masonic color line, asylums, castles, wight, Nov 5, 2026]

RECORDThe Atlanta Journal-Constitution (29 June 2009) reported that Gate City Lodge No. 2 had accepted a Black Army reservist the previous fall. Two members then wrote to the state body that "allowing a non-white man into the group violated the association's moral and Masonic laws." They sought the lodge master's expulsion and the lodge's dissolution, and an internal "trial" was convened. The lodge sued in DeKalb County Superior Court on 18 June 2009. The Grand Master's letter of 25 February had called the membership legitimate. The charges were later withdrawn. The Grand Master of Georgia's Prince Hall grand lodge told the New York Times: "There's deep-rooted racism in the leadership." A Masonic website reports that the 2009 Grand Session voted down "OVERWHELMINGLY" resolutions declaring "racial discrimination... unmasonic conduct" and making men eligible "without regard to race."

PATTERNThe bar on Black members was enforced from inside, by members' charges, as late as 2009. The challenge also came from inside, from a lodge and its Grand Master

LENS (WW9)The color line had to be fought from inside the lodge in the 21st century

OPENThe exact Georgia Masonic Code text on race and the 2009 vote record need the printed Proceedings. Masonic charities and homes that excluded Black members need separate research

SOURCEAJC, "Racial controversy spurs Atlanta affiliate to sue state Masons" (2009); Freemasons for Dummies: NYT covers Gate City (2009); Freemason Information: Georgia 2009 resolutions. ---