Occult and rare books is proud
to present this year’s exhibition.
Slavery is a dark chapter in American history and shaped the nation’s early development through a brutal system which, from the 1600s to 1865, built the wealth of the plantation economy on the forced labor of millions of enslaved Africans.
Many prominent Freemasons were slave owners and participated in supporting slavery. One of the most talked-about figures from the period is Albert Pike(1809–1891), leader of the Freemasons’ Scottish Rite, Southern Jurisdiction. He was a controversial person who defended slavery in his writings by arguing that certain races were not suited to be free.
This exhibition presents slave collars used by Freemason slave owners. All are stamped with Masonic symbols on the metal plates that identified ownership. The square and compass—the most recognizable symbols of Freemasonry—are shown here not as moral abstractions, but as marks bound to domination, property, and the control of enslaved human beings.
Quote from the freemason leader:
"I took my obligations from white men, not from negr**s. When I have to accept negr**s as brothers or leave masonry, I shall leave it"
Albert Pike 33rd degree Freemason
Source: Delmar D. Darrah, History and Evolution of Freemasonry, page 329. The Charles T Power Co
