About Williams
John Bennett Williams was born December 10, 1941 in Thomasville, Georgia. He attended grade school in Miami, Florida, leaving Northwestern Senior High School from the eleventh grade to accept an early admission scholarship to Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1962. After teaching mathematics for two years at Dorsey Junior High School in Miami, Florida, he joined the Air Force during the Viet Nam Era and retired after 20 years of service. His highest military grades were master sergeant (E-7) and captain (O-3). He earned a Master of Science degree in 1971 from the Air Force Institute of Technology and earned an Associate of Science degree in computer science in 1990. During retirement he worked as a land surveyor, computer programmer, computer support supervisor, and an instructor in the computer science department of San Bernardino Valley Community College in California.
He wrote the book Image Clarity: High-Resolution Photography, published by Focal Press (Boston, Mass) in 1990, which was selected as book of the month in 1991 by the Photography Book Club. The book remained in print until 1999. He has also had articles published in nationally distributed photography magazines, and was published in the August 1987 issue of the prestigious journal, Imaging Technology, previously The Journal of Photographic Scientists and Engineers.
MASONIC HISTORY
He became a Master Mason in December of 1972 while serving on active duty in Europe with the United States Air force. His first Masonic affiliation was with Blazing Star Lodge No. 26, located in The Netherlands, operating under the jurisdiction of the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Massachusetts. In 1975 he was elected Worshipful Master. In 1973, he wrote the early history of Blazing Star Lodge and in 1991, although no longer a member of that lodge, he helped to complete that history and assisted in having it published in 1992. He along with co-author Michael Delgado received the Phylaxis Society’s John Wesley Medal of History for this project.
While on active duty, he became affiliated with Prince Hall Lodge No. 17 in San Bernardino, CA (1976), Roscoe C. Cartwright Lodge No. 129 in Upper Marlboro, MD (1981), and again with Prince Hall Lodge No. 17 (1984). He served as Master of Prince Hall Lodge No. 17 in 1991 and in 2005.
He became a 32 degree Mason and a member of the Prince Hall Military Consistory No 304, Frankfurt, Germany, in 1973. He transferred into Riverside Consistory No. 273, Riverside, California , in 1989. He was elected Commander in Chief in 1998. He received the thirty-third degree in 2000 serving as president of his Orient class (Leon Lavender Class) and vice president of his national class (Frank G. Allen Class). He became president of the Commanders of the Rite for California and Hawaii in 2003.
He became a member of the AEAONMS in 1973 at Aswan Temple 115 in Frankfurt, Germany. In 1975 he was elected President of the Holland Shrine Club, of which he was a charter member. His transfer into Sheik Temple No 98, Riverside, California, was completed in 1991. He served as Illustrious Potentate in 1997.
He became a member of the Order of the Eastern Star in 1973 at Feagins Chapter No. 15, Bitburg, Germany, operating under the jurisdiction of Massachusetts. He served as Associate Patron in 1974 and as Worthy Patron in 1975.
His article “Racism in American Freemasonry,” was published in the March 1992 edition of The Phylaxis. It was designated a Phylaxis Society Masterpiece earning him the Certificate of Literature and the title Actual Fellow. He received the prestigious Jno G. Lewis Medal of Excellence in 2006, and was elected president of the Phylaxis Society in that same year..