So what a joy it was to read this book. In resurrecting the history of this submerged tradition, the authors have performed a valuable service for all of us interested in the organizational experience of African Americans.

In this captivating volume, Susan Nance provides a social and cultural history of this highly popular genre of Easternized performance in America up to the Great Depression.

"Called "the badge of a Freemason" in Masonic ritual, the fraternity?s apron was adapted from the protective aprons worn by working stonemasons during the 1600s and 1700s.

The first in-depth account of an African American institution that spans the history of the American Republic.