Prince Hall Freemasonry - Legacy

Legacy

Hall’s legacy as a Freemason and a leader has survived with the lodges; Hall has been considered the "father of African Freemasonry." 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.”

After nearly two centuries of controversy, the Grand Lodge of England was asked to decide the matter of Prince Hall Masonic legitimacy.

While no Grand Lodge of any kind is universally recognized, at present, Prince Hall Masonry is recognized by some UGLE-recognized Grand Lodges and not by others, but appears to be working its way toward further recognition.

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.

According to data compiled in 2011, 42 out of the 51 mainstream US Grand Lodges recognize Prince Hall Grand Lodges. The mainstream state Grand Lodges that do not recognize Prince Hall Grand Lodges are located largely in southern states with an estimated 50% of Prince Hall Freemasons: Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Mississippi, Florida, Louisiana, Arkansas, South Carolina and West Virginia.