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By 1905 it had lodges across the state and thousands of members. Its headquarters were housed in a handsome new building that opened in 1913 at Ninth and
Broadway in Little Rock, Arkansas; Booker T. Washington delivered the dedication speech. In the 1920s it claimed chapters in twenty-six states and
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According to the lore of the Mosaic
Templars of America, happenstance led to the founding. John E. Bush and a white acquaintance were standing on the corner of Ninth and Broadway in Little Rock, when an elderly black women requested a donation to help with the final expenses of her husband. Bush was
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The MTA's goal was "to unite fraternally all persons of
African descent of good character of every profession, business and occupation and to give all possible moral and material aid in its power to its members." It did not interfere with the political and religious opinions of its members. In 1923
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moved to act upon the request. He met with a close friend, Chester W. Keatts, and the two had the idea to form Mosaic
Templars of America. The name metaphorically linked the organization's services to African Americans and the oppressive conditions of the
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By 1900 Mosaic
Templars' industries grew to include an insurance company, a building and loan association, a publishing company, a business college, a nursing school, and a hospital. By the end of 1922 the MTA had 87,069 members.
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49:, in 1883. The organization originally provided illness, death, and burial insurance during an era when few basic services were available to black people.
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In the 1930s, the MTA began to feel the effects of the Great
Depression and eventually ceased operations. However, a single chapter remains, in
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saying that "not as much stress is laid on the secret side of the organization as the business side."
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Preuss, Arthur A Dictionary of Secret and other
Societies St. Louis: B. Herder Book Co. 1924; p.282
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61:' leadership during the Israelites exodus from slavery in Egypt and into the Promised Land.
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six foreign countries, making it one of the largest black organizations in the world.
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Davis, Ryan. "A Cultural Icon Rises From the Ashes in
Historic Little Rock."
136:. Fayetteville, Arkansas: University of Arkansas Press. pp. vii–viii.
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84:. The site of the organization's former headquarters is now home to the
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History of the Mosaic
Templars of America: Its Founders and Officials
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165:. Butler Center for Arkansas History & Culture
255:African-American history in Little Rock, Arkansas
210:. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press.
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132:Bush and Dorman, A.E. and P.L., ed. (2008).
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208:History of the Mosaic Templars of America
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37:was a black fraternal order founded by
16:Black fraternal order founded in 1883
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245:African-American fraternal orders
235:Organizations established in 1883
157:Wintory, Blake; Hampton, Ashan.
26:at Ninth Street and Broadway in
240:1883 establishments in Arkansas
86:Mosaic Templars Cultural Center
24:Mosaic Templars Cultural Center
206:Bush, A.E. & P.L. Dorman.
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250:Charities based in Arkansas
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163:Mosaic Tempalrs of America
159:"Encyclopedia of Arkansas"
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45:, two former slaves, in
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111:The Crisis.
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82:Barbados
55:Jim Crow
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59:Moses
212:ISBN
171:2016
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