Navassa Island is a small uninhabited island in the Caribbean Sea. Located northeast of Jamaica, south of Cuba, and 40 nautical miles west of Jérémie on the Tiburon Peninsula of Haiti, it is subject to an ongoing territorial dispute between Haiti and the United States, which administers the island through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The Improved Order of Red Men is a fraternal organization established in North America in 1834. It claims direct descent from the colonial era Sons of Liberty. Their rituals and regalia are modeled after those assumed by men of the era to be used by Native Americans. Despite the name, the order was formed solely by, and for, white men. This whites-only rule was part of their bylaws until 1974, when the all-white clause was eliminated. Their current position is that they are now open to people of all ethnic backgrounds. In 1935 the organization claimed a membership of about half a million, but it has now declined to a little more than 15,000.
The Knights of Pythias is a fraternal organization and secret society founded in Washington, D.C., on February 19, 1864. The Knights of Pythias is the first fraternal organization to receive a charter under an act of the United States Congress.
The Loyal Order of Moose is a fraternal and service organization founded in 1888 and headquartered in Mooseheart, Illinois.
Theda Skocpol is an American sociologist and political scientist, who is currently the Victor S. Thomas Professor of Government and Sociology at Harvard University. She is best known as an advocate of the historical-institutional and comparative approaches, as well as her "state autonomy theory". She has written widely for both popular and academic audiences. She has been President of the American Political Science Association and the Social Science History Association.
The National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) is a collaborative umbrella council composed of historically African American fraternities and sororities, commonly called the Divine Nine, and also referred to as Black Greek Letter Organizations (BGLOs). The NPHC was formed as a permanent organization on May 10, 1930, on the campus of Howard University, in Washington, D.C., with Matthew W. Bullock as the active Chairman and B. Beatrix Scott as Vice-Chairman. NPHC was incorporated under the laws of the State of Illinois in 1937.
Prince Hall Freemasonry is a branch of North American Freemasonry created for African Americans founded by Prince Hall on September 29, 1784. There are different organizations which purport to be of Prince Hall Freemasonry: the independent, ‘Prince Hall Affiliated’ or ‘PHA’ Grand Lodges, most of which are recognized by their State Grand Lodge counterparts and the United Grand Lodge of England, being considered ‘regular’ in freemasonry; and those under the jurisdiction of a ‘National Grand Lodge’, ‘Prince Hall Origin’, or otherwise non-Prince Hall Affiliated lodge or Grand Lodge, considering them ‘irregular’,‘clandestine’ and unrecognized by both the Prince Hall Affiliated masonic bodies, and their ‘mainstream’ masonic counterparts. Prince Hall Freemasonry is the oldest and largest predominantly African-American fraternity in the United States.
The International Order of Twelve Knights and Daughters of Tabor is an African-American co-ed fraternal organization best known as the sponsor of the Taborian Hospital.
Mt. Tabor Good Samaritan Lodge #59 is a historic building at Crownsville, Anne Arundel County, Maryland. It was constructed in 1899, and is a small, two-story wood-frame building, with a gable roof. A small one-story gable roof addition was made in 2000. Founded as the United Sons and Daughters of Levi Beneficial Society, No. 1 of Mount Tabor, it later joined the Independent Order of Good Samaritans and Daughters of Samaria, an African-American beneficial and temperance society for both men and women, as Mount Tabor Lodge No. 59. It is associated with the African American beneficial or benevolent society movement, and is one of six surviving African American benevolent society buildings in the state. The structure is located behind the Mt. Tabor Methodist Episcopal Church.
The Order of Owls is a secret fraternal order founded in 1904 in South Bend, Indiana, USA, by John W. Talbot. According to its literature, the purposes of the society is "to assist each other in business, to help each other in obtaining employment, to assist the widows and orphans of our brothers, to give aid to our brother in any way that they may need, and assemble for mutual pleasure and entertainment." Its "catechism" said "Owls do good, speak kindly, shake hands warmly, and respect and honor their women."
The Knights of the Ancient Order of the Mystic Chain were a secret society in the United States in the late nineteenth century. Founded by Freemasons in 1871, the group had a strong Masonic influence in its rituals and degrees, as well as incorporating elements from the Bible and Arthurian legend.
The Daughters of the Improved Benevolent Protective Order of Elks of the World are the female auxiliary of the Improved Benevolent Protective Order of Elks of the World, an African American spin off of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. Like the latter organization, which officially has female auxiliaries, the Daughters are also officially recognized and encouraged by its male counterpart. The organization was founded by Emma V. Kelley in 1902 and the organization awards an annual Emma V. Kelley Achievement Award in her honor.
The Pythian Sisters is a fraternal order with members throughout the United States and Canada. Although affiliated with the Knights of Pythias, they are not an auxiliary group as they have their own charter. The Pythian Sisters provided sick and death benefits to members.
Margaret M. Weir is an American political scientist and sociologist, best known for her work on social policy and the politics of poverty in the United States, particularly at the levels of state and local government.
Grand United Order of True Reformers was an African-American fraternal organization founded in 1873 in Alabama and Kentucky. Originally managed by deputies of the all-white, pro-temperance organization, the Independent Order of Good Templars, the Grand Fountain of the United Order of True Reformers, or the True Reformers, was re-organized c. 1875 by William Washington Browne in Richmond, Virginia. This organization existed as a business and a mutual-aid society during the era of Jim Crow segregation laws, and it supported the growing African-American middle class through economic opportunities and education, before its closure in 1934.
Emma Virginia Kelley was an American educator and community organizer. She founded a women's organization, Daughters of the Improved Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks of the World.
Mary Elizabeth Cary Burrell was an American educator and businessperson. She is known for being a school teacher and for working for causes like women's suffrage.
Jones v. United States 137 U.S. 202 (1890) is a United States Supreme Court case in which the court upheld the constitutionality of the Guano Islands Act, which states that any island that fell under the act was under the jurisdiction of any existing statues or laws pertaining to high seas. The case originated from claims the United States government could not prosecute Henry Jones for committing murder on Navassa Island during a riot.
