| African Americans
during the 19th and the first half of the 20th century were
denied entry into any of the white fraternal organizations.
However there was a distinct need and desire for these
organizations in African American communities for the same
reasons that they were wanted everywhere. They provided
financial, spiritual and emotional aid and served their
communities in many other ways. For African Americans, these
organizations also provided a boost in self-esteem The
first of these African American societies were formed prior to
the Civil War and they provided one of the few routes for the
African American to economic and personal advancement.
One of these organizations, the Improved
Benevolent Protective Order of the Elks of the World
(IBPOEW), has become the largest African American fraternal
organization in the world. The IBPOEW was modeled after the BPOE
and it's stated purpose is, "that the welfare and
happiness of it's members be promoted and enhanced, that
nobleness of soul and good ness of heart be cultivated, that the
principles or charity, justice, brotherly & sisterly love
and fidelity be inculcated, that its members and their families
be assisted and protected, and that the spirit of patriotism be
enlivened and exalted."
The Black Elks was formed in
1898 in Cincinnati, Ohio by B.F. Howard and Arthur J. Riggs, a
Pullman porter. They had been denied membership in the all-white
BPOE and they were determined to form an organization that
granted membership to all qualified individuals without regard
to race, creed, or ethnicity. Mr. Riggs was able to obtain a
copy of the BPOE ritual and after consultation with an
attorney discovered that it was not copyrighted. Riggs applied
for and was granted a copyright of the ritual and on November
17, 1898 the first meeting of the Black Elks was
held
When the BPOE found out that African Americans
were using their ritual, they set out to dissolve the Black
Elks by any and all means. The BPOE assembled a mob and
marched on the Black Elks to demand that they give
up the ritual . Riggs then asked the BPOE to produce
their copyright and when they could not, he stated ,"another
word about a Negro Elk Lodge and I will put the entire white
lodge in jail for infringing on my copyright."
Since the white lodge could not challenge the Black
Elks on legal grounds, they tried intimidation. White
Elks in Birmingham, Alabama pulled him from the train on which
he was a porter and threatened him with lynching unless he
relinquished the charter on his next trip to Birmingham. Under
this threat to his life Riggs agreed, but never returned to
Birmingham. Riggs was forced out of his job by the white
Elks and could not find work anywhere in Cincinnati, so in 1899
under an assumed name Riggs and his family moved to Springfield,
Ohio. Riggs said, "By my action in getting the Order
started, the white Elks in Cincinnati boycotted me and I could
not hold a job. My family was suffering because I could not get
work to sustain them."
B.F. Howard took over the running of the
organization after Riggs went into hiding and with the help of
another African American fraternity, the Knights of
Pythias, the first chapter of the Black Elks
was instituted in Cincinnati in 1899, with the full title of Improved
Benevolent Protective Order of Elks of the World (IBPOEW).
The title change did nothing to quell the resentment among
members of the White Elks. Although reconciled to the
inevitability of a Black Elk organization, they resented the
IBPOEW's use of the BPOE seal. Use of the seal by non-BPOE
members was even ruled illegal in New York State in 1906.
Sensing an opportunity to improve relations with the BPOE, the
IBPOEW Grand Exalted Ruler Armand W. Scott ordered Black Elks to
wear an IBPOEW pin and not the BPOE pin, even though they
differed only by the initials engraved over the elk's head at
center. This small difference, apparently, was enough and in
1918, the BPOE officially ended its opposition to the IBPOEW.
The period of inter-fraternal strife was rendered closed.
Since that time, the IBPOEW and its women's
organization, the Daughters of the IBPOEW, have continued to
work for the African-American community. With departments as
diverse as education, health, veteran's affairs, and civil
liberties, the IBPOEW works to stay current to the concerns of
African Americans and Black Elks worldwide. |
