View source for International Order of Twelve Knights and Daughters of Tabor

The International Order of Twelve Knights and Daughters of Tabor (IOT) is a co-ed African American fraternal organization founded by Moses Dickson in 1846 as an antislavery society. Reorganized in 1872, it became a benevolence group offering sickness and death benefits to members. By the 1890s, it claimed 100,000 members across the U.S., West Indies, England, and Africa. Men's and women's groups met separately in Temples and Tabernacles, with junior members known as Pages of Honor and Maids. The organization faced a notable lawsuit in 1915 involving an initiation accident, leading to a $12,000 payout ordered by the Texas Supreme Court. By 2017, IOT operated as a non-profit focused on revitalization projects in Mound Bayou, Mississippi.

The group's symbols include Mount Tabor, the motto "In God Alone is Safety," and a twelve-pointed star badge with numbers 333 and 777, signifying biblical significance and principles like justice and unity. Their colors—red, black, and green—represent Jesus' blood, death, and eternity. The organization published *The Taborian*.

Taborian Hospital was established in Mound Bayou after a membership surge in 1938 under Perry M. Smith's leadership. Funded by member assessments and donations from sharecroppers, the hospital operated until 1983, merging with Sarah Brown Hospital in 1966. Notable members include Minnie L. Fisher, A.C. Jackson, Scipio Africanus Jones, and John Angelo Lester.