THE STORY OF X.L. NEAL

Grand Master Neal was born in the State of Oklahoma to The Reverend Calvin Neal, a Baptist Minister and Julia Neal. 

After receiving a Bachelor of Science Degree in Chemistry from Morehouse College in Atlanta GA. 

Grand Master Neal then pursued further education by doing completing his graduate work and Receiving a Master Degree from Atlanta University. 

Grand Master Neal would later receive a Doctorate in Pharmaceutical Chemistry from Meharry Medical College in Nashville TN. 

Grand Master Neal was mentored and encouraged to pursue Masonry by The Most Worshipful Grand Master Dobbs.

 As such Grand Master Neal became a member of W. C. Thomas Masonic Lodge #112. 

Grand Master Neal also served as a Professor, and taught at his Alma Mater, Morehouse as well as Spellman College.

Grand Master Neal was commonly known as one of the most knowledgeable men in Masonry, but also mostly know for always ‘cracking a wise joke.’ 

In 1968, Grand Master X.L. Neal had indicated that he planned to make Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. a Mason.

This was to take place after Dr. King's his return from Memphis, TN. 

Dr. King was assassinated in Memphis, TN on April 4, 1968, and in keeping his word, Grand Master Neal made Dr. King a Mason posthumously.

When Grand Master Neal retired from his post in the Grand Lodge in 1990, He could be proud of the achievement of leading 219 lodges and 22,000 active Masons on roll. 

Grand Master Neal is currently buried at South View Cemetery. 

His grave is marked with a broken column as a token from the Grand Lodge for his faithful service to the craft and an untimely death.

Grand Master Neal, was instrumental in formulating the Masonic Last Rites Ceremony that is still in practice today. 

While serving as Grand Master, Grand Master Neal was recognized as having performed many Last Rites by himself.

Grand Master Neal also served as an Officer with the United Supreme Council of the Southern Jurisdiction and was also an Active 33rd Degree member of the Scottish Rite.

Grand Master Neal touched many lives, and his selfless efforts live on in every member of The Great X.L. Neal Masonic Lodge #588, named in his honor, to this day.

Timeline of Some Historical Events During X. L. Neal's Life

1906 - In  the year that Grand Master Neal was born, author Upton Sinclair exposed the  public-health threat of the meat-packing industry in his book The  Jungle. While his intent was to show the lives of exploited lives of  immigrants in Chicago and other industrialized cities, most people were  horrified by how the meat that ended up on their tables was handled.  There was such an outcry that legislation was passed to regulate meat  packing. Sinclair said " "I aimed at the public's heart, and by accident  I hit it in the stomach." 

1935  When Grand Master Neal was 29  years old,  on September 8th, Louisiana Senator Huey Long was shot by  Dr. Carl Weiss. Weiss was shot and killed immediately by Long's  bodyguards - Long died two days later from his injuries.  Long had  received many death threats previously, as well as threats against his  family.  He was a powerful and controversial figure in Louisiana  politics (and probably gained power through multiple criminal acts). His  opponents became frustrated with their attempts to oust him and Dr.  Weiss was the son-in-law of one of those opponents. His funeral was  attended by 200,000 mourners. 

1952 - By the time  Grand Master Neal was 46 years old, on February 6th, George VI of England died  from a coronary thrombosis and complications due to lung cancer. His  eldest daughter, age 25, immediately ascended the throne as Elizabeth II  and her coronation was on June 2 1953. 

1977  Grand Master Neal was 71  years old when on January 21st, President Carter pardoned "draft  dodgers" - men who avoided the draft during the Vietnam War. He  fulfilled a campaign promise with the pardon. But it only applied to  civilian evaders - the estimated 500,000 to 1 million active-duty  personnel who went AWOL were not included. 

1991 - In the year  of  Grad Master Neal's passing, on January 16th, Allied forces began the first  phase of Operation Desert Storm. Saddam Hussein's forces had previously  invaded the sovereign state of Kuwait and the focus of the operation was  to remove his Iraqi troops from Kuwait. On February 24th, the ground  war began. Within 100 hours, American ground troops declared Kuwait  liberated.