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Prince Hall

Prince Hall, the African Lodge &

“The Tradition of The RBG Street Scholar”

Dr. Jacob Carruthers on Self Educated Scholars

(What we refer to in the current RBG Movement as RBG

Street Scholars)

"Self-educated" scholars are a vital part of the tradition among

intellectuals of African descent living in the United States. The

recorded works of the leaders, in providing instruction for the

African descent population, go back to the latter years of the

eighteenth century. These works include those of Richard Allen,

Prince Hall, and Absalom Jones. (9) The nineteenth-century

intellectuals kept the tradition going, and they included David

Walker, Henry Highland Garnet, Alexander Crummell, and

Martin Delany. (10) The tradition of self-educated scholars

resumed after the Civil War. Led by John E. Bruce and Arthur

Schomburg, who were joined by others, they advanced the

African history project in the 1920s during the period called the

"Harlem Renaissance," which ran parallel to the peak of the

Garvey movement‖ John Clarke arrived in New York a few

years after the decline of those great movements.

From:

21 p.

John Henrik Clarke: the Harlem connection to the founding of

Africana Studies...

John Henrik Clarke: the Harlem connection to the founding of

Africana Studies, Carruthers, Jacob H [Links, emphasis mines]

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Prince Hall

Hypertext:

Copp's Hill Burying Ground, Boston - Prince Hall monument................................................ 2

Leadership ....................................................................................................................................... 3

Involvement in American Revolutionary War ................................................................................ 4

A Freemason ................................................................................................................................... 4

Attempted Reforms and Legislation ............................................................................................... 7

Copp's Hill Burying Ground, Boston - Prince Hall tombstone ................................................ 8

Notes ............................................................................................................................................... 9

References ..................................................................................................................................... 10

Links ......................................................................................................................................... 11

Copp's Hill Burying Ground,

Boston - Prince Hall monument

Prince Hall (c.1735[1] – December 7,

1807),[2] was a tireless abolitionist and a

leader of the free black community in Boston.

Hall tried to gain New England‘s enslaved and

free blacks a place in some of the most crucial

spheres of society, Freemasonry, education and

the military. He is considered the founder

of―Black Freemasonry‖ in the United States,

known today as Prince Hall Freemasonry. Hall

formed the African Grand Lodge of North

America. Prince Hall was unanimously elected

its Grand Master and served until his death in

1807. He also lobbied tirelessly for education

rights for black children and a back-to-Africa

movement. Many historians regard Prince Hall

as one of the more prominent African

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Prince Hall

American leaders throughout the early national-period of the United States.

Prince Hall‘s life history has been a subject of debate. William Grimshaw‘s

1903 "Official History of Freemasonry Among the Colored People of

North America" began the story that Prince Hall was born in Barbados to a

white father and mulatto mother who fled to the British colony of

Massachusetts where Hall became a Methodist minister.[3] Black

Freemasonry scholars have for the most part, rejected Grimshaw‘s account

due to inconsistencies.

Charles Wesley, a historian (not the founder of Methodism), put together

an alternative history for Prince Hall through compilations of archival sources. He claimed that

Prince Hall was enslaved to the tanner William Hall at age eleven in Boston. Prince Hall may

have become literate on his own, or through the direct help of white people. Some New

Englanders made a point of teaching slaves and Free Blacks to read and write.[4] Documents in

Massachusetts showing that slaveowner William Hall freed a man named Prince Hall on April 9,

1765 cannot be conclusively linked to any one individual as there exists record of no fewer than

21 males named Prince Hall, and several other men named Prince Hall were living in Boston at

that time.

It is extremely hard to conclusively say which man in either case is actually Prince Hall. At the

time that Hall was supposedly freed, there were no fewer than 21 black males named Prince hall

in Boston. But it is certain that by 1770 Prince Hall was a free, literate, black man living in

Boston.[5]

Leadership

The details surrounding Prince Hall‘s life involving abolitionism and masonry are more certain

than his early life. He attempted various approaches to advance black rights. He was politically

active, petitioning for the abolition of slavery in Massachusetts and fought for laws to protect

free blacks in Massachusetts from kidnapping by slave traders. He proposed a back-to-Africa

Dr. Carruthers once again: “A vital part of this tradition was intergenerational mentoring. The African Lodge has

been a mentoring institution from the time of its founding in 1787 to the present. Most of the nineteenth-century leaders

belonged to the "Prince Hall Masons." (11) Another indication of the direct and indirect mentoring process is found in

the works of the various self-educated scholars. David Walker praised the teachings of his elder, Reverend Richard

Allen. (12) Maria Stewart and Henry Highland Garnet in turn evoked the example of David Walker. (13) The

mentoring chain can be found in the reflections of Arthur Schomburg who was inspired by John Bruce and Alexander

Crummell. (14) John Henrik Clarke was in turn mentored by Schomburg. (15)” [Emphasis mines]

From: John Henrik Clarke: the Harlem connection to the founding of Africana Studies, Carruthers, Jacob H

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Prince Hall

movement and pressed for equal education and funding for black and white school children, even

operating a school in his own home. He showed his prowess in debate early on, citing Christian

teachings in a petition that spoke out against slavery to fellow Christians in a predominantly

church-attending Massachusetts legislature.[6]

After the American Revolution ended, many African Americans who served in the ranks or as

aids during the war expected equality from the whites whom they had stood next to against the

British. Prince Hall soon emerged in the high profile realm of politics and was instrumental in

proposing several pieces of legislation that would improve the lives of African Americans

throughout New England . However, the situation soon became apparent that the African

American place in society had budged little throughout the duration of the war. In addition to

proposing legislation, Hall also hosted a variety of different events for African Americans

including theater events as well as educational forums. Prince Hall‘s role of an educator of the

African American youth as well as a politician may very well have been just as instrumental as

his foundation of the African American Free Masonry Lodge.

Involvement in American Revolutionary War

Hall urged the enlistment of both enslaved and freed blacks for the attempt to free the American

colonies from British control. Hall was concerned with the development of the colonies if they

gained independence. He was certain that involvement of blacks in the construction of the new

nation would be the first step toward the complete freedom for all blacks.[7] The Massachusetts

Committee of Safety declined Hall‘s proposal to allow blacks the opportunity to fight for the

colonies. Prince Hall and supporters of his cause petitioned the Committee by comparing

Britain‘s ruling of the colonies with the enslavement of blacks. A proclamation from England

guaranteed blacks that if they enlisted in the British army instead of the Continental they would

be freed at the end of the war. Only after the British Army began to use blacks in their troops did

the Colonial Army change its decision to block admission of blacks into the military.

It is very likely that because of his strong support for the revolutionary cause Prince Hall had

served in the Massachusetts militia during the American Revolutionary War. It is again unclear

definitively whether he served or not since at least six men from Massachusetts who were named

―Prince Hall‖ served in the military during the war.

A Freemason

The Masonic fraternity was extremely attractive to free blacks of the eighteenth

century. Prince Hall and his followers saw Freemasonry as a platform where racial

differences did not exist.[8] The Masonic ideals greatly appealed to Hall, especially

the beliefs in liberty, equality and peace. Prior to the American Revolutionary War,

Prince Hall and fourteen other free black men petitioned for the admittance to the

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Prince Hall

white Boston St. John‘s Lodge.[9] They were turned away. Some whites were irate of the

audacity for blacks applying to be Masons. Due to the resistance of colonial Masonries, Hall

looked elsewhere and on March 6, 1775,[citation needed] Hall and fifteen other free blacks were

initiated into the Masonry by members of the Irish Military Lodge No. 441. The Lodge was

attached to the British forces stationed in Boston. Hall and the other freedmen founded African

Lodge No. 1 with Prince Hall named as Grand Master.

A problem quickly arose for black men wishing to become Masons in the newly formed United

States: the members of a Lodge must agree unanimously in an anonymous vote to accept a

petitioner to receive the degrees. As a consequence of the unanimity requirement, if just one

member of a lodge did not want black men in his Lodge, his vote was enough to cause the

petitioner's rejection. This sentiment can be seen in the letter of General Albert Pike to his

brother in 1875 where he says, ― I am not inclined to mettle in the matter. I took my obligations

to white men, not to Negroes. When I have to accept Negroes as brothers or leave Masonry, I

shall leave it.‖[10] Thus, although exceptions did exist, Masonic Lodges and Grand Lodges in

the United States generally excluded African Americans. And since the vote is conducted

anonymously, this created a second problem: since no one knew who had voted against the

applicant, it was impossible to identify a member as pursuing a policy of racism. This allowed

even a tiny number of prejudiced members to effectively deny membership to black petitioners,

and in some cases even exclude black men who had legitimately been made Masons in integrated

jurisdictions. Thus there arose a system of racial segregation in American Masonry, which

remained in place until the 1960s and which persists in some jurisdictions even to this day.

When the British Army left Boston in 1776, the black Masons had limited power. They could

meet as a lodge, take part in the Masonic procession on St. John‘s Day, and bury their dead with

Masonic rites but could not confer Masonic degrees or perform any other essential functions of a

fully operating Lodge.[11] It took nine years of petitioning white American Lodges before they

appealed to the less prejudiced lodges in England. They applied to the Grand Lodge of England

for a warrant March 2, 1784. While waiting to hear from England, Prince Hall applied to

mainstream Masonic authorities for a temporary full warrant in the meantime. They were

unsuccessful. However, they were granted a second permit to continue with their original, though

limited, operations that covered the period until Hall heard back from the Grand Lodge. The first

meeting place was a lodge room they prepared in ―Golden Fleece‖ which was located near

Boston Harbor. They later met at Kirby Street Temple in Boston.

Eventually, the grand master of the Mother Grand Lodge of England, H. R. H. The Duke of

Cumberland, issued a charter for the African Lodge No. 1 later renamed African Lodge no. 459

September 20, 1784. But the charter was not received until April, 29, 1787 due to

complications.[citation needed] The Lodge was organized under the warrant May 6, 1781.

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Prince Hall

Shortly after, black masons elsewhere in the United States began contacting Prince Hall with

requests to establish Lodges in their own cities. Consistent with European Masonic practices at

the time, African Lodge granted their requests and served as Mother Lodge to new black Lodges

in Newport, Rhode Island in 1799, Philadelphia, Providence and New York.[12]

By 1779 there were at least thirty-four members in the Boston black lodge, a sizable number that

was overlooked by mainstream Boston Masons.[7] Unfortunately, integration with the American

white Masons was not impending. The dream that black Masonry and white Masonry would

become simply Freemasonry had to be either abandoned or, at least, indefinitely postponed.

Instead, the blacks concentrated on recognition from the whites. Recognition required that white

Masons state that black Masonry, descending from Prince Hall of Massachusetts, was legitimate

and not ―clandestine.‖ That it had received its charter from the English Grand Lodge and was

thus entitled to all Masonic rights such as intervisitation between black and white lodges without

prejudice.[13] Many Grand Masters hoped that ultimately recognition would lead to integration

but they knew it would be a long time before that happened.[14]

In 1791, black Freemasons met in Boston and formed the African Grand Lodge of North

America. Prince Hall was unanimously elected its Grand Master and served until his death in

1807. (The claim that he was appointed Provincial Grand Master for North America in 1791

appears to have been fabricated.)[citation needed] The African Grand Lodge was later renamed

the Prince Hall Grand Lodge a year after Hall's death, in his honor. In 1827 the African Grand

Lodge declared its independence from the United Grand Lodge of England, as the Grand Lodge

of Massachusetts had done 45 years earlier. It also stated its independence from all of the white

Grand Lodges in the United States.[15]

Today, predominantly black Prince Hall Grand Lodges exist in the United States, Canada, the

Caribbean and Liberia, governing Prince Hall Lodges throughout the world. Hall‘s legacy as a

Freemason and a leader has survived with the lodges. As a Georgia Mason noted, the original

local lodge rules written by Prince Hall and his followers in the late 18th century were the first

set of regulations drafted by colored men for self government in the United States and Masonry

ever since has striven to teach its members ‗the fundamentals of central government‘ which is

the basis of American life.‖[16] After nearly two centuries of controversy, the Grand Lodge of

England was asked to decide the matter of Prince Hall Masonic legitimacy. Carefully studying

the records, the Grand Lodge of England concluded that the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of

Massachusetts was indeed entitled to Masonic recognition and this against the tradition that, per

state, only one recognized Masonic body should exist.

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Prince Hall

Attempted Reforms and Legislation

Prince Hall is recognized as a black leader due to an unrelenting effort to engage the

Massachusetts‘ legislature in the cause for blacks. He repeatedly joined groups requesting the

legislative body to end slavery in the state. He also petitioned for state support for black schools,

and even opened one in his own home. As with many of his previous appeals, this one went

unattended, and yet, his emancipatory efforts helped create an enduring tradition of Black

activism.

Hall put much of his energy into education. Literate himself, he believed that education was an

extremely important skill to teach black children to get them on even footing with whites. He is

known for speeches and petitions he gave on furthering his cause. Prince Hall‘ ―1792 Charge‖,

―1797 Charge‖ and his 1787 Petition are his most recognizable writings. Hall had a way with

words that could lead many to follow in his strong beliefs. In a speech given to the Boston

African Masonic Lodge, Hall stated, ―My brethren, let us not be cast down under these and many

other abuses we at present labour under: for the darkest is before the break of day….Let us

remember what a dark day it was with our African brethren, six years ago, in the French West

Indies. Nothing but the snap of the whip was heard, from morning to evening‖.[17] Halls‘ 1792

Charge, focused on the abolition of slavery in his home state of Massachusetts. He addressed

how United States‘ Black Leaders were important to the shaping of the country and unity. In his

1797 Charge, Hall spoke more about the treatment and hostility that blacks faced while living in

the United States. He also gave recognition to the black revolutionaries in the Haitian

Revolution.

A strong advocate for black equality, Prince Hall was also involved in the back-to-Africa

movement. In the 1780s Hall approached the legislature once again requesting funds for

voluntary emigration to Africa. In January of 1773, Prince Hall and seventy three other African

American delegates presented an emigration plea to the Massachusetts Senate.[18] This plea

explained that the African Americans would be better suited to the warm climate of Africa and

that they would be able to endure the lifestyle. However this failed. Hall felt that it was the most

appropriate solution in order for blacks to gain some semblance of equality. Hall fought even

harder for the movement when a group of freed black men were captured and detained while

making their way to Africa. With all the information that Prince Hall had received he believed

that blacks would be well suited back in Africa as leaders by using lessons they learned in

America. However, due to a lack of support and enthusiasm for the movement, Hall decided to

turn his efforts towards equality in education.

Education played a significant role in Prince Hall‘s life. As a slave, Hall was taught to read and

write by his master. Some northern slave-owners believed it was a good idea to teach their slaves

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Prince Hall

to become literate. By experiencing how crucial education was, Hall used his leadership to ask

the Massachusetts congress for a school program for black children. Hall cited the same platform

for fighting the American Revolution of ―Taxation without Representation.‖ [19] Although

Hall‘s arguments were logical, his two attempts at passing legislation through the Massachusetts

Senate both resulted in failure. Denied equal funding, Hall was not to be deterred and eventually

started a school program for free black children out of his own home. Prince Hall emphasized

classical education and Liberal Arts.

Copp's Hill Burying Ground, Boston - Prince Hall tombstone

Prince Hall 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

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Prince Hall

community at the base of Copp's Hill are buried in unmarked graves.[20] Prince Hall's grave is

marked, and the inscription reads:

"Here lies ye body of Prince Hall, first Grand Master of the colored Grand Lodge in Mass.

Died Dec. 7, 1807"

A tribute monument was erected in Copp's Hill on June 24, 1835 in his name next to his grave

marker. (see image in above section).

Notes

1. "Prince Hall". Africans in America. WGBH. Retrieved 2008-08-10.

2. FindAGrave Prince Hall

3. Grimshaw, William H., Past Grand Master, 1907 of the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of

Washington, District of Columbia (1903). Official History of Free Masonry Among the

Coloured People in North America.

4. ibid. pp. 239-242

5. Greene, p. 241

6. Greene, p. 288

7. Loretta J. Williams, Black Freemasonry and Middle-Class Realities, (University of

Missouri Press, 1980).

8. Maurice Wallace, ―Are We Men?: Prince Hall, Martin Delany, and the Masculine Ideal in

Black Freemasonry,‖ American Literary History, Vol. 9, No. 3.

[http://freemasonry.bcy.ca/biography/hall_p/hall_p.html Freemasonry British Columbia

and Yukon. Prince Hall.

9. William H. Upton, Negro Masonry, (New York: AMS Press, 1975).

10. Joanna Brooks, ―Prince Hall Freemasonry, and Genealogy,‖ African American Review,

Vol. 34, No. 2.

11. Sidney Kaplan and Emma Nogrady Kaplan, The Black Presence in the Era of the

American Revolution (Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1989; ISBN 0-87023-

663-6), p. 203.

12. Williams A. Muraskin, Middle Class Blacks in a White Society, (Los Angeles: University

of California Press, 1975).

13. Lamont D. Thomas. Paul Cuffe: Black Entrepreneur and Pan-Africanist (Urbana and

Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1988) pp. 126-7

14. Theda Skocpol, ―Organizations Despite Adversity: The Origins and Development of

African American Fraternity Associates," Social Science History, Volume 28, Number 3.

15. Williams A. Muraskin, ―Middle Class Blacks in a White Society,‖ Los Angeles:

University of California Press, 1975.

16. Maurice Jackson, ―Friends of the Negro! Fly with Me, The Path is Open to the Sea,‖

Early American Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal, Volume 6, No. 1. pp. 58 - 59

17. Arthur White, "Black Leadership Class and Education in Antebellum Boston: The

Journal of Negro Education," Autumn 1973.

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Prince Hall

18. Joanna Brooks, "Prince Hall, Freemasonry, and Genealogy," Indiana State University,

34.2 (2000): 197-216. Print

19. City of Boston Copp's Hill Burying Ground]

References

Draffen of Newington, George (May 13, 1976). Prince Hall Freemasonry. Scotland:

The Phylaxis Society. Reprinted at Phylaxis Society: Prince Hall Freemasonry (retrieved

December 29, 2004).

Edward, Bruce John (June 5, 1921). Prince Hall, the Pioneer of Negro Masonry. Proofs

of the Legitimacy of Prince Hall Masonry. New York.

Freemasons. Proceedings of the One Hundredth Anniversary of the Granting of Warrant

459 to African Lodge, at Boston ... Sept. 29th, 1884, Under the Auspices of the M.W.

Prince Hall Grand Lodge F. and A. Masons. Boston: Franklin Press, 1885.

Grimshaw, William H., Past Grand Master, 1907 of the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of

Washington, District of Columbia (1903). Official History of Free Masonry Among the

Coloured People in North America. Note: significant claims in this book have been

discredited by later research.

Haunch, T.O. (Commentary on the illegitimacy of alleged Provincial Grand Master

patent.) Phylaxis Society: Reviews of Prince Hall Freemasonry (retrieved December 29,

2004).

Moniot, Joseph E. Prince Hall Lodges History—Legitimacy—Quest for

recognition. Proceedings, Vol. VI, No. 5, Walter F. Meier Lodge of Research No. 281,

Grand Lodge of Washington.

Roundtree, Alton G., and Paul M. Bessel (2006). Out of the Shadows: Prince Hall

Freemasonry in America, 200 Years of Endurance. Forestville MD: KLR Publishing.

ISBN 0-9772385-0-4

Sidbury, James. Becoming African in America: Race and Nation in the Early Black

Atlantic. New York: Oxford University Press, 2007.

Walkes, Jr., Joseph A (1979). Black Square and Compass—200 years of Prince Hall

Freemasonry, p. 8. Richmond, Virginia: Macoy Publishing & Masonic Supply Co.

Wesley, Dr. Charles H (1977). Prince Hall: Life and Legacy. Washington, DC: The

United Supreme Council, Southern Jurisdiction, Prince Hall Affiliation and the Afro-

American Historical and Cultural Museum. Reprinted in Prince Hall Masonic Directory,

4th Edition (1992). Conference of Grand Masters, Prince Hall Masons.

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Prince Hall

Links

Biography of Prince Hall, Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon

Prince Hall History, Widow's Son Lodge No. 4 PHA, North Carolina

A BRIEF HISTORY OF PRINCE HALL FREEMASONRY IN MASSACHUSETTS

Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Michigan

MAss Historical Society on "Bucks of America" Note copyrighted

Part of a series of articles on

Freemasonry