WS Chronicle

In the photo above: Seated Left to Right- Donald Buie, Reginald McNeill, Cassius Smith. Standing Left to Right – Alvin Jackson, Clinton Brim, Artis Woods, Theodore Shields, Wayne Patterson, Thomas Poole, Robert Davis, Fred Henry, Clark Hanner, Edward Russell, Kenneth Kirby, Quinton Boulware, Steve Galloway. (Photo submitted by Reginald McNeill)

Special to The Chronicle

On Sunday, June 7, Nobles of Sethos Temple No. 170 of Winston-Salem hosted a Jubilee Day service in the chapel of the Prince Hall Masonic Lodge located on 14th Street in the city. Nobles, Daughters and guests from Winston-Salem, Lexington and High Point were in attendance.

Rev. Damian Anderson, Associate Pastor of United Metropolitan Baptist Church was the guest speaker. Noble Reginald McNeill Sr., Illustrious Potentate of Sethos Temple No. 170, served as Master of Ceremony. After the service a repast was held at Sethos Temple, which is located on Old Greensboro Road.

The history of Jubilee Day began in August 1914, with a lawsuit sought by White Shriners against Prince Hall Shriners, which ended in a historic decision by the United States Supreme Court on June 3, 1929. The lawsuit attempted to deprive Prince Hall Shriners of using the name, designation, letters, emblems, and regalia as Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, and to only be

recognized as Shriners. It also extended those implications to all appending Prince Hall Masons established in the United States.
The Supreme Court ruling overturned lower Court rulings in Georgia, Texas and Arkansas. The long, fifteen year legal battle was a sacrifice of devastating proportions for the Prince Hall Shriners. Yet, with unwavering determination and a unified effort, the Prince Hall Shriners were successful in their cause.

Now, each year on the closest Sunday to June 3rd, Prince Hall Shrine Temples all across the world celebrate Jubilee Day with a public ceremony to proclaim our “Jubilee”.

Sethos Temple No. 170 was founded in Winston-Salem in 1946, and currently has 62 members. Membership is open to members of Masonic organizations. It is an affiliate of the Ancient Egyptian Arabic Order Nobles Mystic Shrine, Inc., which is composed of 224 Temples and more than 25,000 members worldwide. The Prince Hall Shrine Order was established in Chicago in 1893.