by Christopher Hodapp
The Grand Lodge of Mississippi F&AM has a resolution to be voted upon at their next annual communication to jointly recognize the Most Worshipful Stringer Grand Lodge of Mississippi (Prince Hall Affiliated). The resolution is being circulated on social media this week.
I believe their annual meeting is in March 2026.
Founded in 1867, the curiously named Stringer Grand Lodge of Mississippi is a regular Prince Hall Affiliated organization that is recognized by the Conference of Grand Masters of Prince Hall Masons. Named in 1955 to honor former Grand Master Thomas Stringer (1867-93), they were precluded from the typical naming convention of most Prince Hall Affiliated Grand Lodges because another organization beat them to the courthouse to file the name.
If joint recognition eventually occurs in Mississippi (it will also have to be adopted by the Prince Hall Masons there), that will leave just Arkansas and South Carolina as the only so-called mainstream grand lodges in the U.S. with no Prince Hall recognition.
(The two footnotes on the map below are for Louisiana and West Virginia. The Grand Lodge of Louisiana has joint recognition with the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Maryland, because of internal issues with the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Louisiana and its longstanding grand master. The Grand Lodge of West Virginia has joint recognition with the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Tennessee because the Prince Hall Masons in West Virginia rejected their overtures.)
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