Paradise Valley Silver Trowel #29 - Masonic Lodge

Special Prince Hall Presentation

May 12, 2008

From WM Jack Buta:

In regards the Prince hall Presentation scheduled for Saturday June 21st at 1 pm at Paradise valley Silver Trowel Lodge #29, I have with the Worshipful masters approval invited Brother Ralph McNeal to put on a short presentation (10 minutes or so) on the Prince Hall to be followed by an open discussion during which the Brethren can ask questions about Prince Hall Masonry in general and or how it operates in Arizona. Besides being a close friend, Ralph is a Past Grand Historian and is very knowledgeable on many facets of this branch of Freemasonry.

Here are a few little know facts about Prince Hall Masonry some of the Brothers may not be aware of:

1. The initiation of Prince Hall and fourteen other men of color took place in Boston in the Colony of Massachusetts on March 6 1775. The presiding officer was one John Blatt of Irish Military Lodge No. 441.

2. It was the Grand Lodge of England that granted a Warrant on September 29, 1784 for African Lodge No. 459, and this Warrant is still in existence. Compare that fact to this one: Lodge at Fredericksburg, now Fredericksburg No.4, in Virginia. This unwarranted lodge initiated Major George Washington on November 4, 1752, the first time it conferred a degree. It went even further. It Passed him a Fellowcraft on March 3 and on August 4, 1753 he was Raised a Master Mason. It was July 21, 1758, five years later, before the Grand Lodge of Scotland gave it a Warrant making it a "legal" lodge. Who was the the clandestine Mason Prince hall or George Washington?

3. In 1813 although all the Caucasian or Mainstream Lodges had disavowed all connection with the English, Scottish and Irish GLs. The first to so declare in this country was Virginia in 1778. Others followed. Africa # 459 was never removed from the Moderns list of recognized lodges (see the 1994 statement by UGLE) making them one of the few recognized lodge in America at that time.

4. "Prince Hall Grand Lodge declared itself free from all authority in 1827." Only following the example set down by the rest of the Grand Lodges in the country.

There have been more lies told about Prince Hall Masonry than any other Masonic body. You owe it to yourself to participate in this very special event bring an open mind and learn something new about this gentle craft.

I am indebted to Nelson King for the facts about which I plagiarized from his article on the history of Prince Hall Freemasonry. Nelson is the editor of the Philalethes magazine. It should be noted The Philalethes Society printed the first article declaring Prince Hall Masonry as regular in 1947, yes 1947 some 50 years before the United Grand Lodge of England did. The Philalethes Society is the oldest and largest Masonic Research Society in the World having members within 185 Regular Grand Lodges, including the only Grand Lodge in a Communist Country and the only Grand Lodge within a Muslim Country. --- Cuba and Turkey.