| Description |
This is a survey course covering the history of black Freemasonry (primarily Prince Hall) from its early beginnings in 1775 through its final recognition in 1998.
History is not about dates and events but about the lives of men and women who overcame impossible odds to make an indelible stamp on the lives of those they touched. More than anything else, this is a record of those who paid such a heavy price to win freedom and equality not just for themselves but for every citizen in the United States.
We will attempt to differentiate between fact and fiction, dispel the myths, and explain the legends. This course concerns itself with history and many times history has not been kind to the Fraternity. No attempt has been made to cover up mistakes or rationalize any action or event.
This portrait of American black Freemasonry, as President Lincoln once said of his own portrait, will contain “Warts and all!”
However, what this course does not explain is why men throughout the ages have joined the Fraternity and promoted its causes. To understand that you will need to become a Freemason.
The course will follow the following outline:
LESSON ONE
- Prince Hall
- The Revolutionary War and African Lodge #1
- The original Charter of African Lodge #459
- The African Grand Lodge and its beginning
- Prince Hall’s Letter Book
- Harry A. Williamson versus Dr. Charles H. Wesley on Foundation of African Grand Lodge
- What right did African Lodge #459 have to charter other Lodges?
- Early Revolutionary Lodges in America
- The Growth of black Grand Lodges
- The consequences of the “Morgan Affair” on black Freemasonry
LESSON TWO
- The Boyer Lodge of New York and the life of Jean Pierre Boyer
- Masonic Career of Jean Pierre Boyer
- How Boyer helped liberate South America and save the life of one of the founders of the Scottish Rite
- The earliest known request by a black Masonic Lodge for recognition from a white Grand Lodge in the United States
- The Boyer Grand Lodge
- The Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania
- John T. Hilton and the formation of the National Grand Lodge
- The Birth of the Prince Hall Origin Masons.
- PHA or PHO?
LESON THREE
- The Amistad Mutiny
- The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850
- Lewis Hayden: Slave, Abolitionist, Conductor of the Underground Railroad, and Prince Hall Grand Master
- John S. Rock: Teacher, Dentist, Doctor, Attorney, Grand Lodge Officer and more.
- Moses Dickson and the Knights of Liberty
LESSON FOUR
- John Price
- Prince Hall Freemasons Charles and John Langston
- By any means necessary: John Brown and the Raid on Harper’s Ferry 1859
- White Backlash from the Raid on Harpers Ferry
- A Strange Friendship
- Robert Smalls: A Prince Hall Freemason who went from Slave to Union Captain to American Statesman
- The First Black Regiment Formed in the North (not the 54th)
- 1863: The Emancipation Proclamation and Black America Goes to War
- The 54th Regiment
- “They buried him with his niggers!”
- William H. Carney
LESSON FIVE
- The First Prince Hall Military Lodge
- Second black military Lodge - Phoenix Lodge #1
- Two very different Prince Hall Leaders during the Civil War Era
- Martin Delany
- The Quiet co-operative leadership of Grand Master Hayden
- Grand Master Moses Dickson and the 62nd United States Colored Troops
LESSON SIX
- The Buffalo Soldiers and the Spread of Prince Hall Freemasonry in the West.
- Masonic Lodges of the 9th and 10th Cavalry
- The Black Codes
- Reaction by Mainstream Grand Lodges
- The 1876 Move to Recognize the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Ohio by the Grand Lodge of Ohio and its Consequences
- The case for Albert Pike being the one who provided Prince Hall Freemasons with their Scottish Rite Ritual
- Buffalo Soldiers at San Juan Hill
LESSON SEVEN
- The State of Mississippi during reconstruction
- “Niggerdom in Regalia” the personal and public attack on Prince Hall G.M. Clark
- The Plessy Vs Ferguson Supreme Court Decision
- William Henry Upton- the first recognition of Prince Hall Masons
- The storm erupts
- Thirty Grand Masters join in the fight to defeat Upton’s actions
- The Rosewood Massacre of 1923: why would a black Freemason give his life so a white Freemason might live?
LESSON EIGHT
- The Development of Freemasonry after WWI
- Non-Typical Response by Maligned Minorities During World War ll
- Black Freemasons of the Tuskegee Airmen
- The hope of Recognition appears in the Northeast before being dashed by the Southern Grand Lodges once more
- Harry E. Davis, Civil Rights Attorney, trail blazer, historian and Prince Hall 33˚Mason
- The Forgotten Giant of Prince Hall Masonry- Thurgood Marshall
LESSON NINE
- Wisconsin- a overview of the attempt to recognize Prince Hall Freemasonry
- A short history of Prince Hall Freemasonry in Wisconsin
- Orville Pitts et. Al. vs. Department of Revenue for the State of Wisconsin
- The 1973 attempt to pass a resolution to prohibit discrimination in the Grand Lodge of Wisconsin
- Wisconsin Department of Revenue investigates white Freemasonry
- The Committee to Study Non-Recognized Grand Lodges
- The 1975 Committee findings
- 1976 Report of The Recognition And Information Committee of The Grand Lodge of Wisconsin
- The “mossbacks” slam on the brakes
- George Curry, the driving force behind the fight for recognition
- What effect did the Pitts vs. Department of Revenue investigation have on the failure of the Grand Lodge of Wisconsin to recognize Prince Hall in the 1970’s?
- 1980 the only alternative- forget Prince Hall and merge
LESSON TEN
- Breaking down the last Barrier
- Brother Lewis Myrick
- 1978 Prince Hall Grand Master Pope initiates the process without effect:
- 1980 Brother Ken Hawkins joins the fight
- 1988 The Torch is Passed- Gail L. and Gail N. Smith organize the battle
- A secret allegiance is formed between Grand Lodge officers in both Grand Lodges
- Nine months to do what had not been done in 200 years
- Final wording on the dual recognition statement is agreed upon
- Co-recognition becomes a Reality
- The Masonic community reaction –the good, the bad, and the ugly
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