GRAND LODGE OFFICERS
M. W. GRAND MASTER – ILL. BRO. CARLOS SMITH 33°
PAST GRAND MASTER EMERITUS – ILL. BRO. JAMES KING 33°
R. W. DEPUTY GRAND MASTER – ILL BRO. TIMOTHY HAYMER 32°
R. W. SENIOR GRAND WARDEN – ILL BRO. LAWRENCE MOSES 33°
R. W. JUNIOR GRAND WARDEN – ILL BRO. KENYATTA HOLLINGSWORTH 32°
R. W. GRAND SECRETARY – ILL BRO. BRANDON MCFERREN 32°
R. W. GRAND TREASURER – BRO. JAMES CARSON

OUR OFFICIAL HISTORY
The Official History of the Most Worshipful Genesis Grand Lodge begins with Calneh Lodge #124, a lodge originally chartered by the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge State of Tennessee, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons in 2007. The Most Worshipful Grand Lodge was established in the State of Tennessee in 1961 after the founding members of that Grand Lodge, notably P.G.M. Edward Crawford the first Grand Master, sued The Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge, State of Tennessee F&A.M. of which they were apart, for violating their Constitution and electing M.W. Grand Master Williams ad vitam (for life). The courts rendered a decision in favor of the P.G.M. Edward Crawford and company awarding them the masonic hall and land located at 1513 Dr. D. B. Jr. Todd blvd and many of the lodges in the Nashville District did leave and formed what became the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge State of Tennessee, AF&AM with their grand lodge being located at the above address.

Calneh Lodge #124 worked and grew under the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge up until 2012 becoming the largest lodge under that grand body, which unfortunately caused some animosity amongst some of the other lodges in the East Jurisdiction. Worshipful Master James King of Calneh Lodge #124 saw the direction with which the relationship between the Grand Lodge and Calneh #124 was going and along with concerns about the legitimacy of the General Grand Masonic Congress under which the Grand Lodge held a Charter. The Most Worshipful Grand Lodge A.F&A.M. worked by virtue of a charter issued by the General Grand Masonic Congress of Grand Masters of which Bro. Jerome Woodard was the President General at the time and according to most, if not all masonic authorities, grand lodge do not have charters. Further, as the original members of Calneh Lodge #124 survey the state of Tennessee it became apparent that no existing predominately African American grand lodge in the state had proper legitimacy or regularity in their origin as to prove their lineage from a regular grand lodge formed in compliance with the laws of the Old Regulations, which spurred us to form our own Grand Lodge. Worshipful Master King with the support of all of his brothers reached out to form fraternal relations with the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Washington D.C. A.F.& A.M..

The Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Washington D.C. is the mother grand lodge for all Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of predominantly African Descent in the United States. The Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Washington D.C. is the first predominantly African American Grand Lodge in the U.S. to form correctly by abiding by the old regulation of 3 or more warranted lodges chartered by competent Grand body or bodies of Masons. The Most Worshipful Grand lodge of Washington D.C. A.F.&A.M. was incorporated in Washington D.C. in August of 1896 and its founding lodges were Joppa Lodge #1, Jerusalem Lodge #2, Hiram Abiff Lodge #3, and King Solomon Lodge #4 all being originally warranted by the Romanian National Grand Lodge of 1880 with General Bartolomeu Constantin Savoiu as their Sovereign Grand Commander Grand Master, a grand lodge that was and is recognized by the Grand Lodge of England. It is with this unquestionable masonic linage that the brothers of Calneh Lodge #124 would want to be associated.

Worshipful Master King developed a fraternal relationship with ILL Bro. Ollie Spencer 33rd/90th/96th Most Worshipful Grand Master of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Washington D.C. A.F.& A.M. and discussed all that had been going on in the state of Tennessee and the difficulties they faced. After some time, Grand Master Spencer advised W.M. King that his lodge was large enough that it could be split into three lodges of which his grand lodge would grant warrants with the intention of those three lodges coming together to form a regular grand lodge in the state of Tennessee. This proposal was agreed upon by W.M. King and all of his members and the lodge was split to form Akkadian Lodge #1 under the direction of W.M. Allon Jones 32nd, Nimrod Lodge #9 under the direction of W.M. Anthony Hardy 32nd, and third remaining as Calneh Lodge #124 under the direction of W.M. Timothy Haymer 32nd . On June 9,2012 these three lodges did meet in convention and resolved to form the Most Worshipful Genesis Grand Lodge state of Tennessee A.F.& A.M. with ILL Bro. James King 32nd as their Most Worshipful Grand Master. On August the 9th of the same year Grand Master King did travel to Washington D.C. to be granted membership for his newly formed Grand Lodge into General Grand Masonic Congress of 1847 with ILL Ollie Spencer 33rd as its President General. This concludes the history of the birth of the Most Worshipful Genesis Grand Lodge of A.F.& A.M. the only real masons of color working in the state of Tennessee.

Humbly Submitted,
ILL Bro. James King 33rd/90th/95th
Past Grand Master