The Boule: A Secret Society in Black America
By W. F. Twyman, Jr.
Good morning from a chilly San Diego! My wife continues to be annoyed with my openness to views and opinions beyond dogma but thus is life. Thus is my life. I was tempted this sunny morning to write about Jack and Jill of America, Inc. However, I have explored this legacy association of black mothers at great length in previous essays. See I Love Me Some Him, Wikipedia Rewrites Black Identity, What Is True Is Not Popular, Oak Bluffs, The Story We Tell Ourselves. I also opened up about Jack and Jill at length in my book Letters in Black and White: A New Correspondence on America, pgs. 241 - 261. I have said my piece.
Do you want to know what unites me to Jack and Jill mothers? A revulsion to negative stereotypes about black people. We stand united in the value of human dignity. We diverge in the road taken. Jack and Jill is a race conscious way forward. I prefer leaving my race consciousness switch turned off in life. The Burbank Happening
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What is the natural life cycle of a Jack and Jill child? There is a fairly predictable life course with some exceptions. Membership can begin as early as the age of two.
Let’s assume one is at the outer limits of black privilege in America. Suppose one’s great grandmother was a founding mother of Jack and Jill. It follows one’s grandmother grew up in Jack and Jill. And one’s mother came of age in Jack and Jill. Our hypothetical child is destined to grow up in Jack and Jill like the Bush family men were destined for Skull and Bones at Yale. Grandfather Prescott S. Bush (1895 - 1972), Father George Herbert Walker Bush (1924 - 2018) and Grandson George W. Bush (1946 - ) were all members of Skull and Bones.
Once our hypothetical child goes off to college, the next step is pledging Alpha Phi Alpha if one is a young man. (The fraternity claims 90% of black lawyers are Alphas.) One pledges Alpha Kappa Alpha if one is a young woman. This is the real college world for our Jack and Jill alums in college. Not everyone will follow through with the path laid out before them by parents, grandparents and great grandparents. But, in my experience, the majority will go along with the associations of ancestors.
Once while standing on a hill in La Jolla, I asked a family member what was his life mission. I expected to hear becoming CFO of a Fortune 500 company or, maybe, buying a company like Reginald F. Lewis (my heart be still/smile). What did I hear? The life goal was to become a member of The Boule.
I was not out of my mind surprised. In fact, the Boule is the logical next step in life for the fraternity man. Let’s talk about this terminus for the Jack and Jill child in mid-and late adulthood. Let’s talk about the Boule.
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I am not a member of the Boule. I write from a distance, although I know of someone related to a family member from Richmond, Virginia who belongs to the Boule.
Founded on May 15, 1904 by six exceptional black men of professional distinction, the Boule was created as a space of fellowship for men of the highest accomplishment. The original members were all doctors, dentists and pharmacists. These men wanted to create an aristocracy of society comparable to secret societies in ancient Greece. The Boule was an invitation only society. One could not knock on the door and apply. No one would answer your door knock.
And so these six founders became the gatekeepers of Black Society throughout the 1900s. Their admissions standards were exacting. First, one had to be invited by a member. One had to live a professional and business life such that one appeared on the radar screen of Boule members. Second, one had to be a college graduate. That was a non-negotiable requirement. Finally, one had to be firmly in the tippy top ranks of achievement.
These three requirements created a powerful and well-connected inner circle in Black America. There are over 20 million black men in America. How many members belong to the Boule? 2 million as that would accord with the Talented Tenth concept? Nope, guess again. 200,000 members in the Boule? That would be the top one percent of Black Americans. No and no. Guess again. You give up? There are only 5,000 members in the Boule. That is 5,000 out of over 20 million black men. About .025% of black men. Less than one out of 5,000 black men are members.
So, who are members of the Boule? Before 1982, the Boule was a strict secret society but now the veil has been pulled back a little. Now, we know some of the members. The first Boule member I ever knew of was my former Harvard Law School classmate, Lawrence Otis Graham. Larry passed away in 2021. Rest in peace, Larry. And, yes, Larry was a member of Jack and Jill.
Other prominent members of the Boule are household names. They include W.E.B. DuBois, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Ralph Bunche, Andrew Young, Virginia Governor L. Douglas Wilder, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, Eric Holder, Congressman John Lewis, Former American Express CEO and Member of the Harvard Corporation Kenneth Chenault, Ron Brown, and Vernon Jordan.
Yes, these gentlemen could fairly be cast as gatekeepers for Black American society. It is also noted that they are devoted to mentoring and training the young for leadership.
Conclusion: If it is one’s dream to be invited into the Boule, then the cycle of life that began at age of two with Jack and Jill and that stepped up in college with Alpha Phi Alpha has a logical and natural progression in the Boule. I am not a joiner but, for those who are energized by fellowship and brotherhood with other black men of stellar aim, I can understand the attraction.
There is no such thing as one Black American culture. Some choose to retire from blackness as a stand against dogma and slogan words. Others understand blackness as the fulcrum for one’s life cycles. Both approaches to life are part of the human condition.
Founding Fathers of the Boule