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| Ralph McNeal, Jr. 1959-2022 |
When I “met” him twenty years ago in Masonic Light and other Yahoo! Groups, Ralph, exhibiting the patience of Job, assisted so many of us who were trying to grasp the myriad intricacies inherent in understanding Prince Hall Affiliation Masonry and the maddening slowness of the larger Masonic populace to meet our PHA brethren on the Level. All of us, particularly those who rose to ranks senior enough to make reforms, are indebted profoundly.
Ralph was a very proud veteran of the U.S. Air Force who was stationed for a time in Italy, and there he was made a Mason in San Vito Lodge 37, a military lodge in PHA Masonry, in 1986. Also proud of his Newark, New Jersey roots, Ralph returned home and continued his Masonic labors. Relocating to Arizona years later, he affiliated with Martin Luther King, Jr. Lodge 29, which got its start in the seventies as a lodge for Air Force servicemen, and was Master there. I don’t doubt Ralph was a treasured Mason in all those localities, but I think it was the Phylaxis Society that allowed him to radiate the Light that benefited brethren within the PHA world and without.
It is an encyclopedic subject that requires a near Talmudic degree of penetration to tell the story, but the bogus “black grand lodges” across the country (there are dozens here in New York City alone) bedevil Prince Hall Affiliation Masons simply by existing. Personally, I think some of these are innocent fraternities just living outside the PHAmily, but of course others are scams or even cults. Regardless, Ralph was head of the Phylaxis Commission on Bogus Masonic Practices when many of us met him in eMasonry all those years ago. He made it his business to abate so many misconceptions about PHA Masonry and all the phonies that I have to believe Ralph deserves much credit for sowing the seeds that blossom today. (In 2001, Phylaxis awarded him its Lewis Medal of Excellence.)
When he was made a Mason in 1986, zero “mainstream” grand lodges had fraternal recognition of their Prince Hall neighbors; now, all but five of those jurisdictions have varying forms of relations with our PHA brethren—and I believe progress will be realized in the final five states sooner than later. (UPDATE: 1/23/22–I’ve just been informed the Georgia grand lodges will sign an agreement on April 9.) It’s just heartbreaking that Ralph didn’t live to see it happen.
Please remember Ralph’s widow, Shermain, and their sons Ralph, Corey, and Gibran in your devotions.
“Alas, my Brother.”
