The Benevolent Protective Order of Elks (BPOE) or the Elks Lodge is a fraternal order founded On February 16, 1868, in New York City. Fifteen entertainers began gathering to socialize and created a list of rituals and a statement of purpose. The mission of the BPOE is:

"To inculcate the principles of Charity, Justice, Brotherly Love, and Fidelity; to recognize a belief in God: to promote the welfare and enhance the happiness of its members; to quicken the spirit of American patriotism; to cultivate good fellowship; to perpetuate itself as a fraternal organization, and to provide for its government, the Benevolent Protective Order of the Elks of the United States of America will serve the people and communities through benevolent programs, demonstrating that Elks care and Elks Share" (Benevolent and Protective Order of the Elks).

The organization has a long history of charitable work providing services for youth, veterans, and their local communities. 

When the organization was founded, however, African Americans were not allowed to become members of the order. Many fraternal organizations of the time had rules that called for the exclusion of blacks including the Odd Fellows and the Masons. "The Elks stipulate that "No person shall be accepted as a member of the Order unless he be a white male" (Schmidt and Babchuk, 278). 

The Ideal Benevolent Protective Order of the Elks of the Word (IBPOE of W) was created in response to this discrimination. In 1898 in Cincinnati, Ohio, Arthur J. Riggs, a former slave, gained a copy of the BPOE rituals. As it was not under copyright, African Americans were able to create their own version of the BPOE (Skocpol and Oser). 

Works Cited

Benevolent and Protective Order of the Elks. “Our Mission.” Elks.org www.elks.org/who/missionStatement.cfm#:~:text=To%20inculcate%20the%20principles%20of,organization%2C%20and%20to%20provide%20for. Accessed 13 Sept. 2024. 

Schmidt, Alvin J., and Nicholas Babchuk. “The Unbrotherly Brotherhood: Discrimination in Fraternal Orders.” Phylon (1960-), vol. 34, no. 3, 1973, pp. 275–82. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/274186. Accessed 13 Sept. 2024.

Skocpol, Theda, and Jennifer Lynn Oser. “Organization despite Adversity: The Origins and Development of African American Fraternal Associations.” Social Science History, vol. 28, no. 3, 2004, pp. 367–437. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/40267851. Accessed 13 Sept. 2024.

“The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.” National Postal Museum, Smithsonian, postalmuseum.si.edu/exhibition/america%E2%80%99s-mailing-industry-industry-segments-magazine-publishers/the-benevolent-and. Accessed 13 Sept. 2024.