The very fact that there is PH at all is because of racism. Black people weren't welcome in the mainstream. This is akin to the existence of African American churches; most mainstream churches today would be thrilled to have black members, but African Americans have developed their own religious culture, unique styles of worship: music, "call and response" preaching, social activism etc. The differences need to be respected and celebrated.
I belong to the Washington,DC Scottish Rite. A high percentage if our membership and leadership are black BUT they are overwhelmingly either African immigrants or Afro Caribbean and NOT African Americans, who tend to join the PH SR. So while we are demonstrably not racist--emphatically so--the division between the mainstream and the SR is most certainly the legacy of racism.
It can't be racism if the black members we have, in all likelihood, have the very same tribal origins in Africa as the African Americans who prefer PH. The issue isn't race or pedigree--it is social and historical.
We would be glad to have the PH masons join us or merge with us -- if they wanted. The question remains: would this contribute to the eventual loss of the PH's own unique traditions? Does PH want to risk assimilation? I haven't check the numbers, but there would also be some possibility that the so called "mainstream" might assimilate into the culture of PH, which would then become the "mainstream."
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