NORTH CAROLINA PRINCE HALL MASONRY GRAND SECRETARY M. TRENT CARMON AND THE LINGERING AFFECTS OF THE WILLIE LYNCH SYNDROME

NORTH CAROLINA PRINCE HALL MASONRY GRAND SECRETARY M. TRENT CARMON AND THE LINGERING AFFECTS OF THE WILLIE LYNCH SYNDROME

By Fahim A. Knight-El

This blog/article came about based on a personal experience that I had with a high ranking member of the Prince Hall Masonic family that took place on June 13, 2012 (actually the original dispute took place in July 2011 of last year); thus, as a writer and a political activist—I have never back downed from a good fight. Thus, I have been deeply disturbed by the continuous obnoxious and repugnant behavior of so-called Grand Secretary Brother M. Trent Carmon of the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of North Carolina (I will discuss some of the specifics of this later on in this discourse). I do not believe in slandering, defaming of ones character and/or committing libel because to do this would be unethical, wrong and illegal, but I do believe in telling the truth and standing on the truth. All we have essentially is our character and our good name—this would only be important to us if we indeed had a good name and good character. This Negro named Brother M. Trent Carmon (NC Grand Lodge Officer) is a public figure and this alone gives me and others the legal right to openly critique and scrutinize his public persona and if one desires to write and publish critiques of a public figure whether it be positive or negative, it is considered fair game and within the realm of legal acceptability.

I am like an artist in many ways in which artists sing and write about their experiences (many wear their emotions on their sleeve), the lows (the blues) and highs (exhilarations)—their music/art allows them to escape personal pain (or poets tell their story often in the form of a political or social genre) and their artistry (or expression) gives them a platform to use their creativity (or art form) to talk about those things that affects them (I refer to them as talented musical shrinks and creative genius). But yet, unlike the typical artist I do seek to be empirical and objective in my approach to uncovering a topic because I believe my readership has come to expect a certain type of scholarship from me that is provocative and thought provoking and not accustom to me displaying emotional ranting. This reality alone dictates an intellectual accountability and it mandates me to observe the importance of harnessing my emotions and consciously not allowing my emotions to override my rational thinking regardless of the sensitivity of the subject and my sensible approach to life (as human beings this requires a spiritual balancing act and a higher sense of unselfishness and from time-to-time we all fall short of this measuring stick) (Reference: Fahim A. Knight-El; “Spirituality: The Road Less Travel; The Final Solution; link: http://fahimknightsworld.blogspot.com/2011/06/spirituality-road-less-traveled-final.html). I am student of Sun Tzu "The Art of War" in which strategy and tactic is of the utmost importance (the art of war should always be scientific and not emotional).

Imam Warith Deen Mohammed (the late son of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad) whom I disagreed with his overall Islamic approach, in particular his dismantling of Elijah Muhammad's program and black nationalist mission; however, the younger Mohammed spent many years working to get his community (American Muslim Mission) to understand the importance of man/woman's pursuit toward human excellences and used the Qur'an as the spiritual guide and model to get us to where he thought we should have been in our spiritual development. Brother Carmon is a member of Kabala Temple (Ancient Egyptian Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine) surely in this House he like all members of the Mystic Shrine was given and exposed to the Holy Qur'an and the teachings of Prophet Muhammad (570 A.D.-632 A.D.) and the religion of Islam. The Qur'an opens each Sura (there exist 114 chapters in the Qur'an), "With The Name of Allah the Compassionate, The Merciful" except for the 9th Sura, which is titled the hypocrite (Reference: Fahim A. Knight-El; “Freemasonry and Islam: What Do they Share?”; link: http://fahimknightsworld.blogspot.com/2010/05/freemasonry-and-islam-what-do-they.html). . Yet, we as human beings have very little mercy and very little compassion towards one another (when you cannot reason with a person, it' then becomes a possible powder keg that is ready to explode). I refused to suffer in silence, yes I could have just walked away from the situation and allowed the abuse to go undetected and unchallenged, but to do that would have been outside of my character, it has always been in me to fight injustice regardless of the consequences and I am not looking for political or social favor relative to Masonic mobility (I am taking this hit for the team.)

I have no other choice, but to hold this Negro M. Trent Carmon to a higher moral standard because if nothing else he has been exposed to Islam (a universal teachings) and in secret has submitted his will to do the will of Allah. Yet, these same Negroes go to church and professes their belief in some milk toast and false Caucasian image of Jesus, the Christ, and they know the truth that Yeshusha Ben Yusuf (so-called Jesus) was a black African and Nubian/Hebrew, but they leave the Shrine Temple and go to church and get on their knees and pray to the false God-head divinity that was given to us by the Renaissance artist Michelangelo. I do not have a secret to hold and hide—Albert Pike (the racist confederate Masonic scholar) in his book titled, "Morals and Dogmas" gave us a small glimpse into the ancient knowledge that he and others stole from the Nubian gurus and sages of Kemet (Egypt) who were full of wisdom in which the likes of Albert Mackey, Manly P. Hall, etc., plagiarized most of the ancient philosophical theories that was first taught in Kemet (Egypt). The Europeans first took this knowledge back to Greece and Rome to help enlighten and elevate societies that were in darkness; however, those who are the present day prodigy and recipients of that knowledge were allowed to master 32 degrees and 33 degrees (who are now the rulers of this present world but his 6,000 year predicted ruler-ship has come to an end). The knowledge that we attribute to them had its origin in Kemet (Egypt). (Reference: Fahim A. Knight-El: article titled, “The Kemetic Origin of Freemasonry: The Signs and Symbols Do not Lie”; Link: http://fahimknightsworld.blogspot.com/2010/05/kemetic-origin-of-freemasonry-signs-and.html).

I have been blessed to have acquired the knowledge of self and possess the ability to teach and raise the entire Prince Hall Masonic Jurisdiction of North Carolina and take their thinking to the next level. Many of them are very fearful of what I know; so they have this superficial relationship with me—these type Negroes are scared of the truth and very few of them have committed their lives to a body of study and their failure to do this has rendered organizational stagnation for the Prince Hall Masonic order across the United States. I have always stood on the fact that all knowledge sprung from Kush (so-called Ethiopia) and Kemet (so-called Ancient Egypt) and how could we not welcome these historical facts and yet call ourselves enlightened Masons. I openly condemned these Negroes after having one of the oldest Masonic charters and Freemasonic institutions in the United States of America established in 1784 and yet we are still seeking acceptability from our ex-slave master's children in the form of seeking full Masonic recognition from the United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) and still desire in 2012 for the racist Confederate States Masons in the United States to extend them a Masonic olive branch in order to feel whole and legitimate (Reference: Fahim A. Knight-El; article titled: “Let There Be Light: There is No Brotherly Love Between Black Masons and White Masons”; http://fahimknightsworld.blogspot.com/2007/11/let-there-be-light-there-is-no.html). These Negroes are oblivious to the fact that Africans who arrived to the United States and the Americas were considered sub-human, inferior and were later written in the United States Constitution as 3/5 of a human being (Reference: Durham Herald-Sun News; http://www.heraldonline.com/2008/11/22/974467/masonic-groups-in-nc-one-white.html).

The United States of America is guilty of horrific crimes against African people and it is very difficult for me to seek brotherhood with people who do not want to be my brother—I would have chosen to remain 'irregular' and 'clandestine', separate and 'unrecognized' by them. I have digressed a bit from my overall intentions, which was to expose the North Carolina Grand Secretary. I refuse to allow this Negro (Brother M. Trent Carmon) to get away with this un-Masonic conduct and disrespectful attitude and behavior toward me, we are suppose to be our brother's keepers and I am talking about something much deeper than fraternal relationships, it does not matter what a person's race, religion, politics, class, etc., there is no excuse to be disrespectful, especially to a fellow brother or human being for that matter. This Negro Brother M. Trent Carmon appears to be an adult bully and even amongst those who work in the North Carolina Prince Hall Grand Lodge you get the feeling that he is indifferent and you can feel the negative energy emanating from this Negro, but even adult bullies must be met head on and dealt with. I feel comfortable in saying that I am probably not the only one who has an antagonistic relationship with this Negro (straight up I wanted to kick his motherfucking ass and to my readers pardon my language).

I am intentionally using the racial/sociological term "Negro" to denote someone that is mentally dead to the knowledge of self and not as a term to classify the historical/genetic, biological racial indexing of people of African descendent because the term Negro is a john-come-lately classification that was applied to blacks under the system of Chattel Slavery. I preferred using the racial term Negro, but in my mind, I wanted to use another term that was much more demeaning and derogative, but that would not have been politically correct. Yet, his derogatory behavior encompasses and typified that term (he appears to be one of these good ole type Uncle Tom Negroes who is a traitor against his own people). My mother from a child instilled certain values in me—we should practice one of the golden rules do unto others as you would have them to do unto you (I have tried to demonstrate tolerance and patience with this Negro M. Trent Carmon and not allow my approach to be driven by ego and superego because I best understood that perhaps both of us are two fragile souls that possesses vulnerable egos, which can be easily exploited by our own emotional instability being products of ex-slaves.

I asked myself, how would have Huey P. Newton, Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin (H.Rap Brown), Kwame Ture (Stokely Carmichael), Minister Malcolm X, etc., or the followers of Messenger Elijah Muhammad of the 1960s and 1970s would have dealt with a Negro like this? Although, my question is meant to be rhetorical, I know the answer, however, I felt a duty and obligation to openly expose and challenge his disrespect in a more civil manner (I initially had it in my mind to write an article every week on this Willie Lynch type attitude that Negroes like this possess which is compromising the integrity of Prince Hall Masonry, in particular and the black race in general). I was so upset that I am contemplating rescinding my membership because, if this could happen to me, I just cannot imagine what other brothers are going through in other Masonic Jurisdictions outside of North Carolina (I look to hear from others and I make no apology for anything that will have written in this article because it is rooted in truth).

This is the sad phenomenon Brother M. Trent Carmon has been elevated in almost every Masonic House: here are some of his Masonic credentials: Raised - Livingstone # 102 Farmville, NCPast Master - Widow’s Son Lodge # 4 Raleigh, NCPast Excellent High Priest - King Solomon Chapter # 71 Raleigh, NCPast Commander In Chief - Boyer Consistory # 219 Raleigh, NCElevated - 33rd Degree Scottish Rite Masonry, PHA 1993 St. Louis, MOPast Potentate - Kabala Temple # 177 Raleigh, NCCashier - Imperial Recorder’s Office AEAONMSPast Worthy Patron - Ruth Chapter # 2 OES PHA Raleigh, NC (2007-2008)Treasurer for Upper Piedmont Region (2008-Present)Right Worshipful Grand Secretary - State of NC and Jurisdiction (2005 - Present). Now, you would think that a man with these above type life body of Masonic credentials would have developed a high level maturation and diplomacy.

I remember years ago Minister Louis Farrakhan, the leader of Nation of Islam gave a series of speeches that became required study guide readings it was titled, "Self-Improvement: The Basis for Community Development". We cannot have a healthier society (home, church, lodge, Mosque, workplace government, etc., ) if we do not work on the man in the mirror, as the godfather of pop Michael Jackson stated. I would recommend this study to all Prince Hall Masons who desire work in the realm of leadership and what it means to properly handle people. I initially overlooked this Negro Brother M. Trent Carmon negative behavior for over a year; I was taught by my Masonic instructor, the late Brother A.O. Grady (may the Creator/Supreme Being be pleased with his soul) that we must first be made Masons in our hearts (this is where character and integrity is established, which will later help us to shape the good that exist in ourselves and in humanity) unless our words, signs and symbols means absolutely nothing. We were taught how to recognize another Mason in darkness and in light and above it all we took the obligation to assist our brother (I know many Freemasons have abused this executive Masonic privileged; however I am not one of them), but many of us have a short cable tow (in my case I was not even given the Grand Hail sign of distress and was not asking for any money—LOL).

But it is incumbent upon us to be better examples, as leaders and our failure to do this, is part of the reason that Prince Hall Freemasonry is having one of the greatest immediate challenges of retaining its membership, in particular after a brother is raised to the sublime degree of Master Mason. They are dropping from the rolls in huge numbers because there is no real knowledge being taught in order to captivate their attention and many desire more than drinking liquor at the Shrine club and chasing other brother’s wives and girlfriends. Brothers are thirsty for knowledge and this is the only thing that could retain them. I do not desire sit around an eat pork skins (forbidden to eat swine) and shoot the breeze with Bobo (this is a bit of black vernacular, but African Americans would understand this). Also but those elected and appointed officials are often unqualified to lead and are very shallow in their Speculative Masonic discourse—Masonry is supposed to be about enlightenment and leading brothers toward embracing the universal principles of good and truth (making good men better).

We have lost our way in which many have no real idea what the compass and square actually mean and sadly are hypocrites to the obligation. Perhaps this Negro Brother Carmon has forgotten what true Masonry mean and stand for, may be he should go back to the Compass (a universal tool which to establish direction) and as a traveler find his way back to the foundation of Masonry, which is rooted in Morality, Friendship and Brotherly Love. We still could learn a lot from studying the Operative Masons and guild workers of old who were masters of brick and mortar they were taught how to lay a physical foundation to ensure that the structure was Plumb, Level and Square and was built to withhold whatever structure that would sit upon it. This Negro who exemplified this negative attitude toward me was a clear indication that he had lost his direction (his moral compass was non-existent) as a brother.

Here is the situation the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge is located at 101 Main Street; Durham, NC (it sits in the heart of downtown) I initially thought that it was a bad investment to purchase a piece of real estate that was land locked and had very little parking accessibility, but with the regenderfication ploys and the revitalization of inner city Durham these moves will eventually declare the North Carolina Prince Hall Grand Lodge as prime real estate—Prince Hall Grand Lodge sits in a strategic location (at times a bad investment has the potential to become a good investment). Every Prince Hall Mason in North Carolina is required to pay Grand Lodge fees/dues in which a percentage of members’ annual dues are mandated to go to the Grand Lodge of North Carolina. How could this Negro fix his mouth to bar me from entering/parking at the Grand Lodge this institution is owned by the brotherhood? I also know that Grand Master M. Toby Fitch is the type of brother, if I would have asked him that he would have probably given me permission to park in his space.

My now 13 year old daughter had established a fund raising business a couple of years ago in order to raise money to help subside her summer gymnastic camps that are often held outside of North Carolina and last three year we needed to raise money to send her to a gymnastic camp in Tennessee. So I built my daughter a wood framed Lemonade stand and she sold lemonade in front of our home in order to raise approximately $2,700 dollars in which people bought lemonade and made monetary donations. Her grandmother had a dynamite gourmet lemonade recipe that she allowed my wife and daughter to use. I was going to utilize the lemonade fund raiser as an opportunity to teach my daughter the value of work, responsibility, thriftiness and what it meant to earn money (surely I saw a teachable moment). I was viewing the larger picture and this was a golden opportunity to instill some life principles. My daughter as stated above was able to raise the money, but something interesting happened after the fund raising was completed, a gentleman knock on my door and wanted to buy some lemonade and I told him that fund raiser ended last week; he stated that we could not stop selling that good tasting lemonade." So I went and got my daughter who was busy playing on her I-Pod because I wanted her to hear what this gentleman was saying about her lemonade product. So we entered her in Durham's Lemonade Day contest and she won for having the best made lemonade stand and last year she won again for having the best tasting lemonade (ok she was on a roll) and in which former Durham City Councilman Farad Ali and an executive from Durham’s Chamber of Commerce served as judges.

So last year we obtained vendors licenses and peddlers permit to allow us to take the lemonade stand to various parts of the city and to operate at festivals and public venues (I even purchased a Ford F-150 pickup truck in order to transport the stand). Last summer someone recommended that we setup downtown and start selling lemonade downtown. I knew parking would be a problem; I initially called my former Worshipful Master Derek Burgman, a brother who I truly like and respect—he will always be considered my Worshipful Master, but I do not think even he knows the impact that he has had on my Masonic development. Brother Burgman is the sitting District Deputy Grand Master of the 24th District and I called him asking about using his parking space at the Grand Lodge; he politely returned my call (I normally have always received good energy and vibes from my Worshipful Master). But he explained to me that he did not have a reserved parking space assigned to him at the Grand Lodge. I must admit it was Brother Derek Burgman and Brother Terrance Sembly who first sent my daughter a monetary donation to assist in her fund raising efforts when she first started her efforts a couple of years ago. I thanked Brother Burgman for returning the call.

However, the very next day as the Creator would have it, I ran into another good Masonic brother named Jackie Robinson who is the Right Worshipful Deputy Grand Master for those who do not know this is perhaps the second or third ranking most powerful and influential office in the entire state of North Carolina Prince Hall Affiliated Masons behind Grand Master Milton Toby Fitch. Let me say this I met Grand Master Fitch about 10 years ago (who is a superior court state judge in eastern North Carolina) and is a very good brother and Masonic leader (I actually sold him a copy of a small book I published titled, “Freemasonry and Islam: What Do They Share?”) He and I were having breakfast at the same time at Roy’s Country Kitchen on Fayetteville Street. It has been his leadership in 2003 that turned a debt riddle organization that involved embezzlement and fraud—past Grand Master Marvin Chambers and members of his administration should have been convicted and indicted for misappropriation of Grand Lodge funds.

I met Brother Jackie Robinson at his office at the Grand Lodge and explained to him about my parking dilemmas and without any hesitation or reservation Brother Deputy Grand Master Robinson stated that I could use his parking space because he does not come to the grand lodge every day. So I kindly thanked him—but I have to give you the entire picture. I think Brother David Holeman who is the Grand Treasure and a member of Doric Lodge #28 was present and the North Carolina Grand lodge daily administrative assistant Ms. Jackson who is a hard working sweetheart and a member of my sister Eastern Star chapter Drusilla #19 was present in which Brother Robinson walked in the common area of the room and stated that he was given Brother Knight-El permission to park in his reserved spot at the Grand Lodge. Thus, approximately two weeks afterwards I was parking one morning and I spoke to this Negro Brother M. Trent Carmon and he did not speak back, he asked me in a very aggressive manner who gave me permission to park at the Grand Lodge and I explained to him that Brother Jackie Robinson had. Perhaps a month or two after that interaction this Negro leaves a note posted on my truck asking me to check into the lodge and as I was getting out my truck this Negro loses it he started using profanity and even threaten me (I did not take this part lightly) and as we made our way upstairs he is yelling, cussing and being very disrespectful—this Negro was totally out of order. His threats were actually crossing legal lines, but I was going to deal with it in a much different manner. I know the above said mention persons heard his belligerent ranting that day. This Negro Brother M. Trent Carmon is a poor example of holding a Grand Lodge position and representing the entire North Carolina PHA Masons in which his demeanor and disposition is an embarrassment to Grand Master Milton Toby Fitch.

My very first altercation with this Negro I actually used my Droid mobile phone to tape this Negro; I started taping him from the parking lot where he was using profanity and continued to tape him as we proceeded upstairs to the Grand Lodge offices. He stated: “Jackie Robinson had no authority and right to give me permission to park in his reserved parking spot". Who in the hell was the Grand Secretary to tell me that the Right Worshipful Deputy Grand Master had no authority to grant me permission to park in his reserved parking spot. This Negro was talking almost as if he was the Grand Master. Now, lets reason with me, if I had gotten permission, which I did and followed protocol and made this arrangement in orderly and decent fashion, which I did. What else should have been required of me? I owe Brother Robinson a big thank you for reaching out to me and expressing brotherly love, he exemplified the best example of what Freemasonry and brotherhood should be about. My daughter during the summer would assist me in operating the lemonade stand (this Negro was not concern that my efforts and my daughter efforts was bigger than a parking spot; this was also about making an attempt at putting her in a private school this up coming school year). We are not beggars and were not looking for a handout just to use a parking space and from there we would grind to raise the money (yet we claim to be a philanthropy based organization: IS THERE NO HELP FOR THE POOR WIDOW’S SON? When you do things to hurt my daughter then you have crossed a line with me of no return. I do not think could that I could ever accept an apology from this Negro—he was nasty, hateful and was full of venom.

I wonder which way is this Negro Brother Carmon is traveling. Many Afrocentric scholars and researchers have discredited the authenticity and legitimacy of the Willie Lynch letter. But I still use it as a point of reference; in particular when black folk demonstrate certain reactionary psychological and social behavior that had its roots and origin on the slave plantation (1555-1865). This process was brutal and dehumanizing and no doubt when I assessed Brother Carmon's behavior he like all people of African descendent are victims of white supremacy and to a lesser or greater degree the Willie Lynch syndrome is still coded in our DNA. Although, Chattel slavery ended over 150 years ago, but the psychological affect still lingers in the form of our personal pathology which created an everlasting psychosis referred to as Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome (Reference: Joy DeGruy Leary; "Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome"). (Reference: Fahim A. Knight-El; "Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome: Myth or Reality?"; Link: (http://fahimknightsworld.blogspot.com/2008/09/post-traumatic-slave-syndrome-myth-or.html).

I feel better already that I am having this conversation with you all and given my opinion about the incident that occurred on June 13, 2012; writing this article has giving me the therapeutic outlet that I needed to express myself and talk about my feelings and emotions (I am still not done yet with this Negro). Some people draw spiritual guidance from the Bible or Qur'an, but I have a little book written by James Allen titled, "As Man Thinketh" and I often pull this little book out as my daily supplication and as my guide to inspiration. Yet, as I stated above, I still feel a deep responsibility to remain objective and empirical in my approach because people read my articles as alternative information and I forever desire to remain honest, forthright and most of all I pride myself in being truthful and thorough.

Fahim A. Knight-El Chief Researcher for KEEPING IT REAL THINK TANK located in Durham, NC; our mission is to inform African Americans and all people of goodwill, of the pending dangers that lie ahead; as well as decode the symbolism and reinterpreted the hidden meanings behind those who operate as invisible forces, but covertly rules the world. We are of the belief that an enlightened world will be better prepared to throw off the shackles of ignorance and not be willing participants for the slaughter. Our MOTTO is speaking truth to power. Fahim A. Knight-EI can be reached at fahimknight@ yahoo.com.

Stay Awake Until We Meet Again,
Fahim A. Knight-El