All Men Free and Brethren: Essays on the History of African American Freemasonry

(Cornell University Press) The initiation of 12 or more black men into a Boston Freemason lodge in 1775 marked the beginning of the intriguing, activist history of African-American Freemasonry. In addition to looking at the history of African-American Freemasons themselves, the book broadens its scope to look at the place of these Freemasons in African-American and American history. Stephen Kantrowitz is professor and Director of Graduate Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.