How many Barbadians are aware that a friendly society called Mosaic Templars which was “founded by Aldridge E. Bush and Percy Lipton Dorman, two former slaves, in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1883”, established a chapter in Barbados in 1928. Unfortunately the Mosaic Templars collapsed in the 1930s caused by the Great Depression. To its credit the local chapter which lists 20 members in its membership has been able to survive. The fact that the local chapter of the Mosaic Templars has been able to outlive its parent is worthy of recognition. Here is a link which briefly explains why this fraternal organization for Blacks was established in Arkansas of all places.
Recently, “members of the Barbados chapter came to Little Rock to attend the grand opening Saturday of the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, a new building on the site where the organization’s headquarters once stood. The new center offers a museum detailing black Arkansan history and the society”. While there appears to be no mention of the Barbados Chapter on the new Mosaic Templars Cultural Website, we congratulate the local chapter of the Mosaic Templars for their loyalty and commitment to a good cause. We hope that their effort to recruit new membership will bear fruit. The local chapter has operated on the fading characteristic of entrepreneurship which Barbadians need to rekindle.
Good Luck!
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