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The Improved Benevolent Protective Order of Elks of the World
Fraternal organizations proved popular among African Americans
for the same reasons that they proved popular among other
Americans: providing financial, spiritual, and emotional aid,
they were invaluable to the communities they served. African
American fraternities, however, had the added purpose of
improving self esteem. First instituted during slavery, the
membership, rituals, uniforms, and offices of these societies
generated a respect not available outside of the lodges. Fully
committed to economic, personal, and academic advancement,
fraternal organizations have played a vital role in every phase
of the African American experience.
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One such organization is the Improved Benevolent Protective
Order of the Elks of the World (IBPOEW). Currently boasting
500,000 members in some 1,500 lodges worldwide, the IBPOEW is
the largest Black fraternal organization in the world. The
IBPOEW's stated purpose is "that the welfare and happiness of
its members be promoted and enhanced, that nobleness of soul and
goodness 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."
Its goals are similar to many fraternal organizations, including
the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks (BPOE). This
organization provided the rough model on which the IBPOEW was
based, but theirs was not a friendly relationship.
In early 1898, sensing a need for another fraternal organization
in the African-American community in Cincinnati, Ohio, B.F.
Howard and former slave Arthur J. Riggs collaborated to create
an inclusive Order of Elks. Denied membership by the all-white
BPOE, Howard and Riggs determined to admit "the qualified of all
groups...throughout the world." The first step necessary was to
obtain a copy of the secret BPOE ritual. Through circumstances
somewhat unclear to this day, Riggs obtained the ritual, and
promptly consulted attorney George H. Jackson regarding the
legality of its use for a Black Elks lodge. Jackson consulted
the Library of Congress and discovered that the ritual was not
copyrighted by the BPOE, allowing Riggs to apply for its
copyright instead. This he was granted, and on November 17,
1898, the first meeting of the Black Elks was called to order.
From: http://northbysouth.kenyon.edu/2000/Fraternal/ibpoew.htm
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