State Drops Civil Rights Probe of Elks Lodge
A state civil rights investigation into allegations that the Van Nuys Elks Lodge discriminated against black applicants has been dropped.
The attorney general’s nine-month investigation found no evidence of racial discrimination, Deputy Atty. Gen. Louis Verdugo said Wednesday. Officers of the 260-member lodge claim that the result vindicated the lodge, but Verdugo said the probe was hampered by the organization’s secretiveness.
“They take an oath of secrecy as to what goes on when those doors are closed. That’s part and parcel of who they are,” Verdugo said.
Also, the lodge admitted two black men recently, making it difficult to prove “a pattern of discrimination,” he said.
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