As Masons, one of our primary objectives is to shine the light of knowledge into the darkness of ignorance. One such dark area that shows itself over and over amongst our Brethren across the state is our ignorance of the history and regularity of our worthy Brothers laboring under the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Texas.
Prince Hall was a black man in Massachusetts during the mid-late 1700s. On March 6th, 1775, he and 14 other black men were made Masons at Castle William Island in Boston Harbor by Lodge #441 of the Irish Registry attached to the 38th British Foot Infantry. A year later the unit left Boston due to the Revolutionary War, leaving Prince Hall and the others without a lodge. The Worshipful Master of that lodge left these Brothers with a permit to meet and perform Masonic funerals, but not to perform degrees or bring in any new members. On March 2nd, 1784, this Lodge petitioned the Grand Lodge of England for a charter to meet as a regular Lodge with all rights and privileges to bring in new members and perform other Masonic work. The Grand Lodge of England issued this charter on September 29th, 1784, authorizing this lodge to work as African Lodge #459. In 1791, Prince Hall was appointed Provincial Grand Master, and several years later, he authorized several other lodges in New England to begin work under African Lodge’s charter. On December 4th, 1807, Prince Hall passed away. A year later, the Brethren of the lodges he organized decided to form a Grand Lodge, and on June 18th, 1827, they declared themselves free from the control of the Grand Lodge of England, officially establishing themselves as African Grand Lodge #1. Twenty years later, the name would be changed to Prince Hall Grand Lodge. At this point, Prince Hall Grand Lodges began to spread across the rest of the country, and now 47 Grand Lodges can claim lineage from the original Prince Hall Grand Lodge.
In August of 1875, representatives of five “Negro Lodges†operating in Texas under the Grand Lodge of Kansas met to form the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Texas F. & A.M. On August 20th, 1875, Brother N.W. Cuney was elected its first Grand Master. It then grew steadily from those five original lodges in Southeast Texas to encompass the state.
On March 8th, 1995 the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts A.F. & A.M. and the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Massachusetts joined in mutual recognition. This set off a chain reaction across the country. In 2007, the Grand Masters from the Grand Lodge of Texas, A.F. & A.M. and the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Texas, F. & A.M. came together and signed a compact declaring that both Grand Lodges have shared territorial jurisdiction since 1875, and declared each other regular and Masonic, unfortunately however, we do not yet have visitation or Masonic communication, as they do in many other states.
There seems to be much confusion in and about the Temple on our part concerning this compact and its implications. We have a difficult time locating it, whereas it is shown visibly on the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Texas’ website, along with pictures of it being signed. I have asked numerous times for clarification of what “Masonic communication†means, and have yet to receive satisfactory or even consistent answers.
For those of us of the younger generations, our biggest question is why we are one of the remaining few states without visitation? With the territorial dispute put to rest with the signing of the compact, it leaves few other reasons. That is another question you are guaranteed to get inconsistent answers to. I’ve asked this question numerous times to many people. Answers range from we didn’t want it, they didn’t want it, the time isn’t right, etc. Myself having been born after the “separate but equal†days, much of this is beyond my scope of comprehension. A phrase that should speak to the hearts of all worthy Brothers says this: “Behold, how pleasant it is for Brethren to dwell together in unity…†My Brothers, the key word here is together. Not separate. TOGETHER. Why is this such a cloudy issue? Why are answers so hard to find? With one of our principle tenets being Truth, why do we hide from it?
So, again I ask what is “Masonic communication?†My interpretation relies on common sense and conscience. We obviously can’t sit in a tiled function together at this point, but we can do things open to the public. We can attend public fundraisers, lodge functions open to the public, etc. I would recommend we take advantage of these opportunities we have. Today we can set the example for what will become tomorrow’s standard. Brotherly love knows no boundaries except for those we put there. Let’s do the right thing and stop letting a repressive history get in the way of creating a progressive future.
Source: Bro. Tom Shelton, PM Fort Worth No. 148
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