At one point the qualifications for membership were that one must be 21 years old, possess a good character, not be a Communist and be a Caucasian. By the late 1970s the all-white provision had officially been rescinded, but, because the Order used the blackball to admit new members, it was difficult for minorities to gain membership. In 1979 the FOE tried to get a lawsuit dismissed that alleged it was violating the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by not allowing African Americans to use their athletic facilities. The article stated that a local Eagle official could only cite Joe Louis as a black member of the FOE
I . . didn’t, I made it through the timeline - is that from the wiki?
Anyway, it’s relevant because . . . they really really like the ten commandments? Or was there something about their interpretation of them or something? Or just that they’re religious nutballs.
I mean the Gideons would pass out bibles on the street corner, which is so not of interest to me, but it doesn’t seem particularly nefarious either (not that it isn’t mixed up with something nefarious, somewhere). It’s an old-timey thing groups would do, hand out “their materials”. It is still unconstitutional to put them in schools and the courtroom, but if they want to put them anywhere they can - ok, i guess?
Like, I expected Louisiana’s idiocy in publishing eleven commandments came from this group, or possibly that there were more hilarious mistakes in there. But neither seems to be the case.