Prince Hall was the Malcolm X of his time. He was the one of the individuals directly responsible for the birth of Liberia, the first Civil Rights leader in the United States, a charismatic spiritual teacher and master craftsman, a land owner, a Revolutionary War veteran, and a legal scholar.
Most notably, Prince Hall is the founder of the Black Freemasonry. Generally Freemasonry (or Masonry) is one of the world’s oldest and largest secular fraternal organizations, whose members are concerned with moral and spiritual values. The Fraternity has always claimed to unite men of differing beliefs into a harmonious and productive community through the application of Masonic moral values and the practice of benevolence, intellectual development, and mutual respect.
The necessary prerequisite for acceptance into the Masonic fraternity is the belief in a Supreme Being and membership is open to men of all races and religions who profess belief in deity and are of good repute.
While Freemasonry today represent every race, during the 18th Century, the Fraternity was just as segregated as every other western institution. It wasnt until Prince Hall organized the African Lodge that Black men were able to access the same privileges as other Masons.
Who Is Prince Hall
Prince Hall was born a slave in Massachusetts in 1735, about one month after Crispus Attucks was killed in the Boston Massacre that started the American Revolution.
His master freed him early in life, and Prince Hall went on to become a charismatic Methodist minister. His close ties to the Methodists introduced him to Masonry.
Portrait of Prince Hall, Founder of Black Freemasonry
Back then, Black men who wanted the same advantages granted by a fraternal Masonic organization were denied entry into white Masonic halls, and white Masons did not freely accept their Black counterparts, despite their claims to liberty, fraternity, and love of God.
On September 29, 1784, Prince Hall petitioned for the formation of an independent Black Lodge to the The Grand Lodge of England, the premier Grand Lodge of the World. His charisma and honesty led to the issue of a charter to the African Lodge, making it a regular lodge with all the rights and privileges of any regular lodge in the world.
The Prince Hall African Lodge was so popular that the Grand Lodge of England made him a Provincial Grand Master on January 27, 1791. He was given the job of reporting on the condition of the Lodges in the Boston area – both white and Black. Eight years later, on March 22, 1979 Prince Hall organized a lodge in Philadelphia, called African Lodge #459, which was then given permission to work under Prince Hall’s Charter. Thus, the first Black Freemasonry Temple was born. Prince Hall would serve as its Grandmaster until his death.
Prince Hall And Pan-Africanism
Prince Hall was a Pan-African who supported the “Back to Africa movement, and an abolitionist who fought for equal access to education for Black children and the right to serve in America’s military. In fact, Prince Hall went to Capital Hill to push legislation that would guarantee civil rights 200 years before the actual Civil Rights movement!
As Many As One In Seven Of The Revolutionary War Continental Soldiers Were Men Of Color. – Source
Following the end of the Revolutionary War, Black men who had served thought their service would guarantee them equal rights. They were wrong.
After realizing they were now trapped in the white values system that is America, Prince Hall and 12 other Black lodge members petitioned the government to organize a back-to-Africa movement in January 4, 1787. Even though the petition died in state committees, Prince Hall might be the inspiration that later led to the birth of Liberia.
In a speech to the African Lodge at West Cambridge, Prince Hall discussed the revolt in Haiti led by Toussaint L’Overture and used it as an example of what Blacks should be doing in America:
“…have faith in God and to bear your burdens quietly, but to be ready for the day of deliverance. Now, my brethren, nothing is stable; all things are changeable. Let us seek those things which are sure and steadfast, and let us pray God that, while we remain here, He would give us the grace and patience and strength to bear up under all our troubles, which, at this day, God knows, we have our share of… My Brethren, let us not be cast down under these and many other abuses we at present are laboring under, for the darkest hour is just before the break of day. My brethren, let us remember what a dark day it was with our African brethren, six years ago, in the French West Indies (Haiti). Nothing but the snap of the whip was heard, from morning to evening. Hanging, breaking on the wheel, burning, and all manner of tortures were inflicted upon those unhappy people. But, blessed be God, the scene is changed [and Haiti is free]!” – Prince Hall
Despite encouraging the support of white abolitionists, Prince Hall believed in the strength and power of Black Americans doing for themselves. In 1800, when the state of Massachusetts refused to grant him a building for an all-Black school, Hall opened the school in his own home with his own funds. Two Harvard College students served as teachers until 1806, when increased enrollment forced Hall to move to a larger facility provided by the African Society House on Belknap Street.
A Brief History of Prince Hall Masonry
It seems that while everyone has heard of Masonry and Freemasonry, but the details are long and complex.
Prince Hall Shriners
One of the few resources online concerning the early history of Prince Hall masonry can be found at www.princehall.org. From them, we get the following history:
On March 6, 1775, Prince Hall and 14 men of color were made masons in Lodge #441 of the Irish Registry attached to the 38th British Foot Infantry at Castle William Island in Boston Harbor, Massachusetts. It marked the first time that Black men were made masons in America.
About a year later, since the conflict between England and America had commenced, the British Foot Infantry left Boston, along with its lodge, leaving Prince Hall and his associates without a lodge. Before the lodge left, Worshipful Master Batt, gave them a “permit” to meet as a lodge and bury their dead in manner and form. This permit, however, did not allow them to do any “masonic work” or to take in any new members.
On March 2, 1784, African Lodge #1 petitioned the Grand Lodge of England, the Premier or Mother Grand Lodge of the world, for a warrant (or charter), to organize a regular Black Freemasonry lodge, with all the rights and privileges thereunto prescribed.
The Grand Lodge of England issued a charter on September 29, 1784 to African Lodge #459, the first lodge of Blacks in America.
African Lodge #459 grew and prospered to such a degree that Worshipful Master Prince Hall was appointed a Provincial Grand Master, in 1791, and out of this grew the first Black Provincial Grand Lodge.
In 1797 he organized a lodge in Philadelphia and one in Rhode Island. These lodges were designated to work under the charter of African Lodge #459.
In December 1808, one year after the death of Prince Hall, African Lodge #459 (Boston), African Lodge #459 (Philadelphia) and Hiram Lodge #3 (Providence) met in a general assembly of the craft and organized African Grand Lodge (sometime referred to as African Grand Lodge #I).
In 1847, out of respect for their founding father and first Grand Master, Prince Hall, they changed their name to the Prince Hall Grand Lodge, the name it carries today. In 1848 Union Lodge #2, Rising Sons of St. John #3 and Celestial Lodge #4 became the first lodges organized under the name Prince Hall Grand Lodge.
Prince Hall died in 1807[1] and is buried in the Historic Copp’s Hill Burying Ground in Boston along with other notable Bostonians from the colonial era. Also, thousands of African Americans who lived in the “New Guinea” community at the base of Copp’s Hill are buried alongside Snowhill Street in unmarked graves.
A tribute monument was erected in Copp’s Hill on June 24, 1835 in his name next to his grave marker. The inscription reads: “Here lies ye body of Prince Hall, first Grand Master of the colored Grand Lodge in Mass. Died Dec. 7, 1807”
From these beginnings, there now are some 5,000 lodges and 47 grand lodges who trace their lineage to the Prince Hall Grand Lodge, Jurisdiction of Massachusetts.
The Honorable Yves-R. Maignan is currently the 71st Most Worshipful Grand Master, and carries on the tradition started by Brother Prince Hall over 200 years ago.
Prince Hall is an important part of our story as Black men and women, and should be given all the scholarly observation that we give to Marcus Garvey, Malcolm X, and other important Pan-Africans.
If you are, or know someone who is a Prince Hall Mason, get in touch with us. If you can add to the conversation, fill us in in the comments section!
Typically when the Bible is brought up in conversation, what comes to mind is a source of truth that has not been tampered with. However, when this book was originally published it contained 80 books and current editions only have 66, and we have to wonder what exact purpose the removal of 14 books would serve? The Vatican Church or Roman catholic church has been associated with deception for ages. Their atrocities have ranged from genocide many centuries ago against the Cathars to child molestation is more recent years. The Bible was originally translated from Latin into English in 1611. This “original” Bible contained 80 books, including the Apocrypha, which means hidden. These Apocrypha books made up the end of the Old Testament, and included the following books: • 1 Esdras • 2 Esdras • Tobit • Judith • The rest of Esther • The Wisdom of Solomon • Ecclesiasticus • Baruch with the epistle Jeremiah • The Songs of the...
An approximately 1,500-2,000-year-old Bible found in Turkey has left the Vatican in shock because it allegedly confirms that Jesus Christ wasn’t crucified as has come to be widely believed. The Bible, which was discovered in 2000 and kept in secret in Ankara’s Ethnography Museum, contains the gospel of Jesus’ disciple Barnabas. The gospel claims that Christ was neither crucified nor was he God’s son. Instead, it says he was just a prophet. The book also refers to Apostle Paul as “The Impostor” and further claims that Christ ascended back to heaven alive, with Judas Iscariot being crucified in his place. The now controversial book was recovered during an operation in the Mediterranean-area as authorities went against a gang that smuggles antiquities and illegal explosives, says a report by The National Turk. The old book is currently valued at a whopping 40 million Turkish Liras, approximately $28 million. Experts and religious bodies have examined the book an...
“…The darkest man is here the most highly esteemed and considered better than the others who are not so dark. Let me add that in very truth these people portray and depict their gods and their idols black and their devils white as snow. For they say that God and all the saints are black and the devils are all white. That is why they portray them as I have described.” – Marco Polo,after visiting the Pandyan Kingdom in 1288 More than a thousand years before the foundations of Greece and Rome, proud and industrious Black men and women known as the Dravidian erected a powerful civilization in the Indus Valley. From those origins, African Kings in India drove the region’s commerce, culture, and belief systems. Dr. Clyde Winters, author of Afrocentrism: Myth or Science? writes: “Ethiopians have had very intimate relations with Indians. In fact, in antiquity the Ethiopians ruled much of India. These Ethiopians were called the Naga. It was the Naga who created Sanskrit. ...
Negative emotions and experiences allow us to grow T hese days, the realm of spirituality (and sometimes psychology) can feel fake. Instagram and other social media are jammed with influencer posts about positive vibes, about not allowing negative energy or thoughts to get to you, about surrounding yourself with only supportive, positive people. Unless you live in a bubble or on Mars, this is not only unrealistic, but also a recipe for never growing or truly learning who you are. If you attempt to transcend or avoid difficult experiences, you can remain emotionally stunted. Spiritually minded psychologists and teachers refer to this as spiritual bypassing. Like it or not, the ugly parts of our humanity are where growth can occur. In the words of Buddhist teacher, author, and nun Pema Chödrön: Feelings like disappointment, embarrassment, irritation, resentment, anger, jealousy, and fear… are actually very clear moments that teach us where it is that we’re holding back...
We are made of the black, transmutable, life-bringing, multi-dimensional, super conductive substance of the Universe. It is common to see people who are melanin deficient downplay melanin as if it’s just a substance that helps you sleep and ‘gives you a tan’. It is so much more then that, but people who have sufficient levels of melanin are already aware of this. Especially those of us who study the afrocentric scholars who’ve spent lifetimes studying “melanin” and it’s implications upon the individual, society, and the universe. Click Here To Order! One of the greatest sources of information around this substance can be found in the work of Richard King M.D. In his book, ‘ African Origin of Biological Psychiatry ‘ he thoroughly expounds upon the mysteries and melanin and how it relates to spirituality, cosmic consciousness, the ‘black dot’, blackness, the pineal gland, ancient sciences, and more. Richard King opens the book up summarizing the magnificence of melani...
The Ancient Egyptians are perhaps best known for their complex religion, whose hundreds of ancient Egyptians gods were worshiped in some of the most spectacular temples ever built. As early as 17,000 BCE, carvings of wild cattle alongside strange hybrid creatures at the site of Qurta in southern Egypt suggest an early belief in the hidden forces of nature. With Egypt’s earliest stone sculpture at about 7,000 years old believed to represent a cow, it is clear this was an animal that played an important role in the lives of the early Egyptians. So too did their desert environment, in which the dominant Sun was worshiped as a variety of gods, much like the River Nile, whose annual life-bringing floodwaters were likewise venerated as divine. As these aspects of the natural world gradually developed into individual gods, each region of Egypt also had their own local deities whose characters evolved through stories and myths. One of the key myths for the...
There are several Akan and Ga names that point not only to Sumerian-Mesopotamian connections but also to Egyptian ones. A common Ga surname is " Ankrah ". Has anyone stopped to think that this name " Ankrah " is..." Ankh--RA "! Pretty amazing, isn't it? RA was an Egyptian 'deity '...he was a Sirian-Reptilian being, son of Enki/Ptah . Same line, people. What about the Akan word for lord..." Wura "! Yes, pretty incredible, isn't it? " WU-RA " could refer to " RA ". When an Akan person says, " Me wura ", they are saying " My Lord/Master ". And then you've got another common name for ' god ' which is still in common usage today...." Awurade "! Every Akan speaking person knows this name for god. Let me break it down: " A-WURA-DE "....this means " Lord/Master's possession(s)", in other words, "That which belongs to the Lord/Master ...
“We are now entering the era of energy medicine. Everything in the Universe has a frequency and all you have to do is to change a frequency or create an opposite frequency. That’s how easy it is to change anything in the world, whether that’s emotional issues or whatever that is. This is huge. This is the biggest thing that we have ever come across.” Dr. Ben Johnson Throughout history, cultures from all over the world have acknowledged the existence of a Universal Energy Force flowing through everything in the world, including the human body. It has been given many names. In India it is called ‘’Prana’’. In the Far East it is ‘’Chi’’ and in some shamanistic traditions it is described is ‘’Chula’’ or ‘’Amimu’’. Today many people refer to it as ‘’Spirit’’ or the ‘’Life Force’’. Both the ancient sages and modern scientists agree that everything in life is formed of vibrations. We are told that vibration is the result of force or energy, concentrated in some mysterious wa...
315 years. 20,528 voyages. Millions of lives. U sually, when we say “American slavery” or the “American slave trade,” we mean the American colonies or, later, the United States. But as we discussed in Episode 2 of Slate ’s History of American Slavery Academy , relative to the entire slave trade, North America was a bit player. From the trade’s beginning in the 16 th century to its conclusion in the 19 th , slave merchants brought the vast majority of enslaved Africans to two places: the Caribbean and Brazil. Of the more than 10 million enslaved Africans to eventually reach the Western Hemisphere, just 388,747—less than 4 percent of the total—came to North America. This was dwarfed by the 1.3 million brought to Spanish Central America, the 4 million brought to British, French, Dutch, and Danish holdings in the Caribbean, and the 4.8 million brought to Brazil. This interactive, designed and built by Slate ’s Andrew Kahn, gives you a sense of t...
POS Almost every civilization throughout history has referenced the pineal gland as something of irreplaceable significance. It is mentioned, although code like at times, in ancient texts and structures. Even today, everything from modern day religion to movies reference the Pineal Gland and give you hints or suttle suggestions of its miraculous powers. What is the Pineal Gland? Don’t fooled by the casual descriptions given by modern so-called experts in the medical field. They will have you believing that the pineal gland is nothing more then a gland that helps regulate sleep and that ancient civilizations spoke highly of this particular gland out of speculation, not science or a deep understanding of human anatomy. According to Edward Bruce Bynum in Dark Light Consciousness , The pineal gland is light sensitive and earlier in evolution rested closer to the surface of the brain. It is a kind of vestigial eye. Over the eons as evolution has...
From these beginnings, there now are some 5,000 lodges and 47 grand lodges who trace their lineage to the Prince Hall Grand Lodge, Jurisdiction of Massachusetts.
The Honorable Yves-R. Maignan is currently the 71st Most Worshipful Grand Master, and carries on the tradition started by Brother Prince Hall over 200 years ago.
Prince Hall is an important part of our story as Black men and women, and should be given all the scholarly observation that we give to Marcus Garvey, Malcolm X, and other important Pan-Africans.
If you are, or know someone who is a Prince Hall Mason, get in touch with us. If you can add to the conversation, fill us in in the comments section!
Comments
Post a Comment