The Odd Fellows, African American Secret Society
#100YearsAgoToday … The Grand United Order of Odd Fellows were centrally involved in major Harlem building projects, examples of the movement toward African American-owned businesses (as was being promoted by Marcus Garvey and U.N.I.A).
The New Age of February 14th, 1920 announced the Odd Fellows as planning to build a 7-storey building on 137th Street that would include the chapter’s headquarters, rental apartments and also a large auditorium for entertainment purposes. For whatever reason, the Age was less overt in announcing the society as backers of a new Harlem Casino project on 141st Street.
The New Age Feb. 14th, 1920, p. 1. Newspaper.com.
The Odd Fellows wound up building their headquarters a few years later, farther uptown, at 280 West 155th Street. The building became significant as a club, the Rockland Palace, the site of Masquerade Balls that served as “drag balls” –– parties where LGBTQ culture was out in the open. In their heyday, the balls, which were unsegregated, attracted more than 2,000 revelers each time.
The Rockland Palace, also the site of the Odd Fellows Lodge No. 710 of the Grand United Order of Odd Fellows. Courtesy Harlembespoke Blog.
Internationally, the Odd Fellows history dates to 1700s England. Introduced in the US during the nineteenth century, the order became popular among African American communities, who eventually dominated its membership.
Here is an April 1, 1922 photo of a group of Odd Fellows and Freemasons that features Arturo Schomburg, Black Puerto Rican activist and archivist. Schomburg is standing in front of the brick wall, next to the inscription.
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Photographs and Prints Division.