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Segregation and discrimination against Negro Freemasons has been the subject of discussion and controversy for many years. Long and complicated lawsuits, filed and prosecuted by both Negro and white Lodges have occupied the public's attention, and the consequent interest has resulted in a demand for authoritative information as to the factors entering into this much-debated and as yet unsolved question. It is the purpose of the present work to present facts of record, taken from the writings of prominent Masonic scholars and historians, archives and official publications of Grand and subordinate Lodges, together with excerpts from the works of leading Masonic authorities, and thus establish a basis for a better understanding of Negro Freemasonry and its place in the Masonic body. A certain amount of historical background is necessary to a full understanding of this problem and is presented, necessarily in abridged form, in this work. While an attempt has been made to limit this to pertinent material, much has been included that is intended to assist in presenting an accurate picture of the over-all position of Negro Lodges and their problems in the struggle to gain the dignity and position to which their Masonic status appears to entitle them. From a study of the original sources quoted herein, it becomes evident that the prejudice which admittedly exists against "Lodges made up of colored men, imitating and claiming to be Masons, using regalia and emblems copied from legitimate Freemasonry" (Darrah; History and Evolution of Freemasonry) is not recognized as prejudice, but is based on the assumption that Negro Masonry is spurious and illegitimate, and will so exist "as long as human prejudice separates the white man and the black man".
