photo by steed media service

Since their inception, black Greek organizations have stood as a testament to the rich tradition and history of the African American community, according to filmmaker and freemason James Davis. Davis is the writer, director and producer of the documentary, Black Greek Organizations: The Foundation, an exploration of the origins of the Masonic order and how its principles and maxims correlate to black Greek life.

“It seems that the rest of the world, not just white America, thinks that we don’t have a culture,” Davis says. “We do have a culture and this is to me like the last essence of our ties to that Egyptian culture.”

Black Greek is the first installment of a trilogy that features interviews with organization members from police offers and soldiers to Shaquille O’Neal and the late Johnnie Cochran, and offers a visual look into the diversity of personalities who come from Greek life.

Davis, whose film is being sold at Borders bookstores, says the film will give viewers a lot to talk about. “When you check the history books and go into the past, every famous black person in America has either been a Mason, [a member of the] Eastern [Star Fraternity], Northern Star Fraternity or both,” he says. “I would be 100 percent completely wrong to tell you that every Mason you encountered was a good Mason, [and] that every fraternity member is a good person. In everyday life there’s good and evil in the world, so I wanted you to know that through looking at this documentary I acknowledge that.” -gavin philip godfrey

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