Separate but equal: U.S. Freemasons still have racially separated groups in 2006

Boy, those Masons sure are down with the latest trends, aren't they? Apparently, some of the southern chapters are still waiting to see if this whole "equal rights" thing isn't just a passing fad:

Nationwide, Masonic groups operate in a separate-but-supposedly-equal system in which whites typically join one network of Masonic groups, called Grand Lodges, and blacks typically join another, called Prince Hall.

But in the South, it goes further: White-controlled Grand Lodges in 12 Southern states do not even officially recognize black Masons as their brothers — the Masonic term is "mutual recognition" — and in some cases, black lodges have taken similar stands.

This isn't exactly impressive. No wonder the organization has suffered a massive decline in membership over the last hundred years.

But there are fewer names on the membership rolls than there once were: 54,000 in New York, down from a high of 346,413 in 1929. Membership rose again after World War II, rising to 307,323 in 1957 before beginning a long slide.

It seems to me that the freemasons are no longer relevant. They might as well just call it a day, reveal a few secrets and leave it at that. At the very least they need to get this racial division thing sorted out. That's gotta be fucking embarrassing.