General Information About Prince Hall Masons & Prince Hall Shriners

Edited by Azizi Powell

Latest revision: February 3, 2024

This is Part I of a two part pancocojams series on Prince Hall Masons. Most of the content of that series was published in this blog in 2019. 

Part I presents general historical information about Prince Hall Masons (A.E.A.O.N.M.S). Some information about Prince Hall Shriners is also given in this post.

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2019/09/racial-integration-between-mainstream.html for Part II of this pancocojams series. Part II presents excerpts about some similarities and differences between Prince Hall Shriners and mainstream Shriners, with particular attention to the historical and contemporary racial composition of those two fraternal organizations.

Also, click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2019/09/the-significant-influence-of-prince.html for a closely related pancocojams post entitled "The Significant Influence Of Prince Hall Masons Upon African American Culture: Excerpt Of Article "Martin Luther King Jr & The Freemasons" "

The content of this post is presented for historical and cultural purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Prince Hall for his cultural legacy and thanks to all who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to all those who have been and are now associated with Prince Hall Masons and Prince Hall Shriners.

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/09/prince-hall-shriners-tradition-of.html for the closely related pancocojams post entitled "Prince Hall Shriners' Tradition Of "Riding" (Performing Processional Versions Of The Camel Walk Dance)"

Click the Prince Hall Shriners tag for additional pancocojams posts about this predominately African American organization.

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PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S DISCLAIMER
I have no affiliation with the Prince Hall Masons's female auxiliary "The Eastern Star" or with the Prince Hall Shriners' female auxiliary "The Daughters of Isis". Nor do I have any affiliation or direct/indirect contact with any other Mason or Shriners organizations.

All material presented in this pancocojams series is gleaned from the internet.

Corrections are welcome.
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Added September 7, 2019:
Re-reading the discussion quoted in https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2019/09/excerpts-from-2005-2006-hbcusportscom.html, it occurred to me that I should include this significant information point: men can be members of a masonic organization (and their female relatives can be members of their female affiliated organizations) without being students of a college or university. In contrast, men or women can't be members of Greek letter organizations unless they are or have been students of a college or university.

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INFORMATION ABOUT PRINCE HALL MASONS
From https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/prince-hall-masons-1784/
"The Prince Hall Masons are the oldest and largest group of Masons of African origin in the world. Today there are forty Grand Lodges of Prince Hall Freemasonry in the United States, Canada, the Bahamas, and Liberia. These Grand Lodges preside over more than 5,000 lodges. All of them claim descent from the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Massachusetts which is traced back to the African Lodge No. 459.

Prince Hall, a native of Bridgetown, Barbados, West Indies, was freeborn on September 12, 1748, the son of Thomas Prince Hall, an Englishman, and a free colored woman of French heritage. In 1765, at the age of 17, Hall worked for his passage on a ship to Boston where he became a leatherworker. Eight years later, he had acquired property and was eligible to vote.

On March 6, 1775, Hall, who was a minister with a Methodist Church in Cambridge, Massachusetts, joined fourteen other free blacks of Boston who all became Masons at British Army Lodge, No. 58, then attached to one of General Thomas Gage’s regiments stationed in Boston. Hall and the other newly initiated Masons were granted the authority to meet as a separate lodge, to march in parades, and to bury their dead. They were not granted permission to confer degrees or perform any other Masonic work.

Nine years later on March 2, 1784, Hall petitioned the Grand Lodge of England, asking for a warrant for a charter that they had been denied by the white Masons of Massachusetts. The warrant was approved and Hall established the first lodge of African American Masons in North America known as African Lodge No. 459.

Although the status of the African American Masons improved, they were not considered a “full” Masonic lodge until 1787 when Prince Hall received a charter from the Grand Lodge of England, the mother of all Freemasonry. In 1787, African Lodge No. 459 became African Lodge No. 1 with Prince Hall as its leader. The Masons were independent of the United Grand Lodge of England. They created separate jurisdictions comprised of mostly African American members. In 1791, the Prince Hall Grand Lodge was founded to govern the three then existing black Masonic lodges with Prince Hall as its first Grand Master, a position he held until his death in December 1807. Black Freemasonry evolved from the establishment of this Grand Lodge.

Due to prevalent racism and segregation in North America, it was impossible for African Americans to join most mainstream Masonic lodges until the late 20th century. Yet, because Prince Hall Mason lodges were African American, North American Grand Lodges denounced Prince Hall Lodges and Prince Hall Masons, deeming them illegitimate and refusing to recognize their authority. Until 1865 most Prince Hall lodges were in the North, but after the Civil War, black Masonry quickly spread across the South, often led by Northern-born Masons who became active in Reconstruction politics.

From Reconstruction until 1900, Prince Hall Masonry remained a highly prestigious but small fraternity. In the early twentieth century the membership rapidly expanded, lessening its exclusivity. Although all Masonic Lodges today are theoretically racially integrated, white Grand Lodges in Mississippi, Florida, Arkansas, Louisiana, South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, and West Virginia still do not recognize Prince Hall Grand Lodge members as legitimate Masons. Nonetheless, the Prince Hall Masons include tens of thousands of black and some non-black members throughout the United States, Canada, the Bahamas, and Liberia."
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Click https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Hall_Freemasonry for a more comprehensive article about the history of Prince Hall Masons.

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ONLINE EXCERPTS ABOUT PRINCE HALL SHRINERS
These excerpts are given in no particular order. Numbers are added for referencing purposes only.

Excerpt #1
From https://www.shrinersinternational.org/Shriners/MasonShriners/Masons
"All Shriners are Masons, but not all Masons are Shriners.

Shriners International is a spin-off from Freemasonry, the oldest, largest and most widely known fraternity in the world. Freemasonry dates back hundreds of years to when stonemasons and other craftsmen gathered after work in shelter houses, or lodges. Over time, the members organized into Masonic guilds and the tools of their trade – the square and compass – became the symbol of their brotherhood.

Over time, Masonry evolved into an organization that began to accept members who were not craftsmen. Today, Masonry is built upon a foundation of improving character and strengthening communities, though the square and compass are still the symbols of the fraternal brotherhood.

When Shriners International was first founded in 1872, the organization built on the principles that guided Freemasonry, while adding an element of fun and ultimately, philanthropy, that set Shriners International apart. The two organizations are also structured similarly:

Shriners have temples; Masons have a Blue Lodge or Craft Lodge
Members of the Masonic lodges are required to learn about their fraternity and earn a series of Masonic degrees.
When a member has completed the third and final degree he becomes a Master Mason and is then eligible to become a Shriner."....

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Excerpt #2
From https://www.dummies.com/religion/spirituality/how-shriners-and-freemasons-relate/
"How Shriners and Freemasons Relate
The Shrine has often been called the “playground of Freemasonry.” Before a man can become a Shriner, he must become a Freemason. In fact, if you look carefully at the full name — Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine — you can rearrange the letters A.A.O.N.M.S. and spell “A MASON.”

All Shriners are Freemasons, but not all Freemasons become Shriners. The Shrine isn’t a Masonic organization — it doesn’t confer any degree that continues or enlarges on the Masonic degrees. It’s simply an organization that requires Masonic lodge membership as a prerequisite for joining.

From the beginning, the Shrine was intentionally designed to be fun — actually, even a bit juvenile. Freemasons looking for deep, intellectual symbolism and knowledge won’t find it in the Shrine. What they will find is old-fashioned, back-slapping, glass-raising, cigar-puffing, high-volume socializing. Their history is filled with tales of the antics of Shriners, especially when collected together at their annual conventions.

Temples: Shrine temples (or centers, as more of them are referred to these days) are often very large, and only a few exist in any given state. So, each temple draws on dozens or even hundreds of Masonic lodges for their membership. Shrine temples often have thousands of members.

The Shrine built its own dedicated buildings during prosperous times, and they were generally designed with Middle Eastern architectural details. In keeping with the functions of the Shrine, they often have large auditoriums, plus social rooms, dance halls, restaurants, and bars.”...
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Notice that the official name for "mainstream Shriners" is "Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine" (A.A.O.N.M.S.) and the official name for Prince Hall Shriners (PHA) is Ancient Egyptian Arabic Order Nobles Mystic Shrine (A.E.A.O.N.M.S)

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Excerpt #3
From https://www.aeaonms.org/about_us.htm
"Who We Are
PRINCE HALL SHRINEDOM embraces all of the basic fundamental concepts of the Masonic Order, but is more colorful, with a broader spectrum of visibility by the manner in which it dispenses charity in the community, and the care for its own.

John George Jones, the founder, is said to have been introduced to the ritualistic mysteries of the Order by one Ali Rofelt Pasha, Deputy and representative from the Grand Council of Arabia, during the World's Colombian Exposition in Chicago in 1893.

Shrinedom, because of its pageantry, has on occasions been referred to as the "Display" House in Masonry, causing men to sometimes join the prerequisite Houses solely with the intent on becoming a Shriner.

There are 224 Constituent Temples throughout the Imperial Domain (the World), with a membership of over 25,000 - and growing.

Shrinedom is thought of as a Fraternal, Social, and Charitable Organization: FRATERNAL in the sense of using passwords and symbols to remind the members to ever strive for inner self-improvement; SOCIAL from the standpoint of the enjoyment of good times within its own ranks; and CHARITABLE for its unselfish giving of goods and services on both the local and national level.

Heading the list of recipients is the NAACP, the Legal Defense Fund, the Urban League, and United Negro College Fund, along with Annual Grants to several institutions of higher learning and hospitals throughout the land, for medical and other research projects.

Substantial grants are awarded to colleges annually to supplement the education of economically deprived youth, along with a program of financial aid to fight drugs, crime and delinquency. There is also a national scholarship grant program for young ladies between the ages of 17 and 24 to attend colleges and universities of their choice. They also strongly endorse the Assault on Illiteracy (AOIP), amid an engagement in development programs with Third World Countries.

The Shrine Organization is 123 years old and takes great pride in its Auxiliary, which is composed of wives, sisters, mothers and daughters of the membership - officially styled, the Imperial Court.

They are 106 years old and mirror, in some respect, the activities of the parent body. Both share offices in the organization's Headquarters Building located in Memphis, Tennessee.

The Shrine is headed by the Imperial Potentate, and the Imperial Court by the Imperial Commandress. The red Fez is worn by the men and the white Fez by the women, both of whom are community oriented - and definitely on the move!"...

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Excerpt #4
From https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-difference-between-Prince-Hall-masonry-and-other-types-of-masonry
What is the difference between Prince Hall masonry and other types of masonry?

[Pancocojams Editor: Here are the seven answers to this question with alphabetical listing added for referencing purposes only.]

a) Carl Weaver, Freemason
Answered May 26, 2016
"I am not a Prince Hall member, but many of the Prince Hall Affiliated (PHA) grand lodges are recognized by my own GL, so I can say a few things here with that disclaimer.

Prince Hall Freemasonry was started by a freed slave named Prince Hall. It was started as a Black lodge and overseen by a British military lodge in Massachusetts. After a while, Prince Hall petitioned the Grand Lodge of England for a charter so they could become a “real” working independent lodge, and that charter was granted, but due to the American Revolution, the charter was supposedly lost at sea. As such, the PHA lodges operated without a charter for some time, and this reason is often given for why the Prince Hall lodges are not recognized. The PHA Grand Lodges have since rectified that over the last 200+ years, so that is no longer a valid reason to not recognize them. Sometimes that excuse is given because it is easier to say than to make a racist comment, at least in my opinion.

The big difference today is that Prince Hall Masons are mostly Black and the others are mostly white. This is not something enforced. In fact, in my lodge we have a number of African American members, and I have met white brothers who were PHA Masons. It is more just tradition. The PHA Masons generally seem to be more regimented and in touch with their Masonic history, and typically from what I have seen, they have higher dues. However, the members get a lot of value for their dues money and are more than willing to pay it.

If you are thinking of joining, I recommend checking out a number of lodges in both camps and seeing which lodge you feel most comfortable in or most pulled toward."

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b) Peter Renzland, Toronto Society for Masonic Research. Governance, Constitution, Founding Texts.
Answered Jul 11, 2016
"1. Prince Hall lodges have always explicitly been open to people of all races, unlike the other lodges, which have, for 200 years, explicitly excluded black people. Peace and Harmony (Mackey's Encyclopedia of Freemasonry and Kindred Sciences) … Prince Hall Freemasonry Recognition
2. Today, Prince Hall Masons are predominantly black. “Mainstream” Masons are predominantly white.
3. Prince Hall Masonry has a close connection with OES.
4. Prince Hall Masonry has more of a Christian character.
5. Prince Hall Masonry is deeply conscious of the history, culture, and social condition of black people in the US. Lift Every Voice and Sing.
6. Prince Hall Masons are more serious and earnest about their Masonry. They were* black suits and white gloves. They are very competent in ritual.
7. Prince Hall Grand lodge Annual Communications are genuine and democratic.
8. Prince Hall lodge dues are higher.
9. Prince Hall Masons can only belong to one lodge at a time. There are only two exceptions: CT and MN.
10. Prince Hall Masons in their meetings and activities have a warmth and genuineness that is uncommon in mainstream Grand Lodges.
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*wear

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c. Jeffrey S Hertig PM, studied at Purdue University
Answered May 27, 2016
"Very little actually, here in CA where we consider PHA to be "brothers" and we can attend each other’s meetings. Which I have done and when I was master had a group visit us. I have seen bigger differences while traveling in other jurisdictions then in the PHA lodges here.

The biggest difference that I noticed however, is that while Freemasons make every attempt to be "religiously generic", the PHA lodges here seem to be decidedly Calvinistic, Protestant Christian based.

While PHA brothers are mostly black, Freemasons (at least here in CA) are a little more “color blind”. I think this is a result the beginnings of PHA and probably a little, I'm ashamed to say, because of lingering bigotry in the 1800's.

The story I got, after time and old age memory has eroded the facts from my memory, is:
Back in 1775 in Boston, 13 Black men (Prince Hall included) joined a Military lodge consisting of British soldiers. (Think about it! One year before this country declared independence, Back and White men calling themselves brothers.)

During the war the British were forced to evacuate and left just the Black men in the lodge. As with all American lodges theirs lodge didn’t pay their dues to the GLE during the ware and when it was over, not being wealthy as you might imagine and like many lodges, they didn’t pay their back dues.

Eventually in 1808, I believe, the GLE pulled the charter of all American lodges that hadn’t paid up, including theirs. So they continued to operate without a charter. But in 1823, I believe again, when the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts was founded they petitioned it for membership. However, when it was discovered that they still owed the GLE money the petitioned was revoked pending the settling of the debt.

Sometime in the 1830’s they gave up, and formed the PHA which grew among the black population. I couldn’t tell you if bigotry in the Freemason lodges, or just that they felt more comfortable among other blacks was the reason. I suspect it was a little of both.

In the 1920’s, (again I think), there was an attempt to merge the two but when the subject of the debt came up it failed.
Finally, sometime in the 90’s many Freemason jurisdictions in the US decided to forgive the debt and recognize PHA lodges. However, I believe 13 jurisdictions still do not.

As a result, if I want to go to a PHA lodge in another jurisdiction, I MUST first see if that jurisdiction recognizes PHA lodges. If they don’t it is forbidden for me to do so.

Like I implied; I researched this many years ago, and cannot vouch for the factuality of it, but I would suggest: “Google is your friend!” Just don’t believe EVERYTHING you read on it."

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d. Douglas Chapel, Mason since 2010, Past Master since 2015
Answered May 26, 2016
"Freemasonry is organized entirely at the Grand Lodge level, and there are 51 regular Grand Lodges in the U.S. - one in each state and the District of Columbia. When moving from one Grand Lodge to another, it’s common to see slight variations in the ritual, such that the overall message is always constant but certain words or phrases or other particulars might vary a little bit. Prince Hall Freemasonry is also organized along similar Grand Lodge lines, going state by state in the U.S. Again, slight variations in ritual can exist among those Grand Lodges.

The consequence is that there are dozens and dozens of individual Grand Lodges just in the U.S., and most of them are “in amity” with one another and recognize each other as legitimate. In most states (excluding a few, mostly in the South), the regular Grand Lodge of that state and the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of that state recognize each other. This is the case in Michigan, where I am a Mason, and I’ve visited a Michigan Prince Hall Lodge in the past. I found it to be a similar experience to visiting a regular Lodge in Ohio or Indiana, in that the ritual was generally the same but I could pick out a variety of variations. In short, when moving between a Prince Hall Lodge and a regular Lodge, the change is probably comparable to when one moves between Lodges in two different states.

Carl Weaver already gave a very accurate description of why two parallel tracks of Freemasonry developed in the U.S., but that is my experience with the situation in the 21st century"

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e. Peter DiVergilio, Have studied much in the field of Arcane Arts
Answered May 26, 2016
"Prince Hall was originally designed as a lodge for Blacks - this is now a moot point, in my opinion, as most of them accept any Race and most "other types of Masonry" now accept Blacks. I qualify this with the word "most", because there appear to be vestiges of racism still present in the world, and, since human beings are imperfect creatures, not all Masonic Lodges may follow that precept."

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f. Andrew Oxford, Master Mason and Past Master of a Lodge
Answered Jan 10, 2018
"There really isn’t that much difference. They confer the first three degrees just like the others. Lodges have the same general structure and arrangement, and the same organization. Historically Prince Hall Lodges have had mostly African-American members, and indeed was started by an African-American Freedman named Prince Hall. According to legend, Hall was a friend of Dr. Joseph Warren, who was going to bring him into his Lodge. Unfortunately, the revolutionary war broke out and Warren was killed at the Battle of Bunker Hill. Hall was then initiated by an Irish Military Lodge which left Boston when The British army pulled out. Hall sought, and was eventually granted a charter to work. This became known as African Lodge, and Hall helped organize a number of other Lodges with African-American membership. After Hall’s death, they changed the name to Prince Hall to honor him.

Prince Hall Lodges and the mainstream Lodges didn’t always enjoy amicable relationships. In fact some of the southern Grand Lodges do not recognize Prince Hall affiliation. Segregation pretty much kept Prince Hall the Masonic lodge for Blacks, and the “mainstream” stayed white. Over the last several decades though, this trend is slowing down. Many African Americans are joining the mainstream, and most State Grand Lodges recognize Prince Hall as regular Masonry. Recently even Texas has recognized Prince Hall.

As far as ritual goes, Prince Hall Lodges tend to use the emulation ritual, which bears resemblance to the Ritual practiced by Modern British Lodges."

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Excerpt #5
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Hall_Freemasonry [retrieved Feb. 3, 2024 and added to this pancocojams post on that date.]
"Prince Hall Freemasonry is a branch of North American Freemasonry for African Americans founded by Prince Hall on September 29, 1784. There are two main branches of Prince Hall Freemasonry: the independent State Prince Hall Grand Lodges, most of which are recognized by State grand lodges, and those under the jurisdiction of the National Grand Lodge. Prince Hall Freemasonry is the oldest and largest (300,000+ initiated members) predominantly African-American fraternity in the United States.[1]

[The history of Prince Hall Free Masonry is given here.]

There are two competing sets of organizations within Prince Hall Freemasonry. A minority of lodges, which are subject to the Prince Hall National Grand Lodge, are referred to as Prince Hall Origin (PHO) traces its lineage back to African Lodge #459, and are regular and recognized by some Grand Lodges in American territory. The majority of lodges, which are subject to 41 independent state grand lodges, and are known as Prince Hall Affiliation (PHA).[16]

The Conference of Prince Hall Grand Masters determines the regularity of Prince Hall Freemasonry known as Prince Hall Affiliation (PHA). All regular and recognized Prince Hall Grand Lodges Prince Hall Affiliation (PHA) are represented at the Conference. A comprehensive list of all Prince Hall grand lodges deemed regular is listed on the conference website. Each regular Grand Lodge also traces its lineage back to African Lodge #459, where Prince Hall was made a Mason. The group using the name Prince Hall Origin has no affiliation to the conference of Prince Hall Grand Masters.[17][18]

National and international lodges

Today, predominantly black Prince Hall Grand Lodges exist in the original state jurisdictions of the United States; additionally, Prince Hall jurisdictions have been established in Canada, the Caribbean, Liberia, and Brazil governing Prince Hall Lodges throughout the world.

The Prince Hall Grand Lodge of the Caribbean was founded with the assistance of the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of New York. It is based in Christ Church, Barbados, the location of Prince Hall's birth.[19] A monument to Prince Hall has been erected outside the Grand Lodge building.[20] Caribbean Prince Hall Masonry was established in Barbados with the chartering of Prince Hall Memorial Lodge #100 in July 1965 by the Grand Master and officers of the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of the State of New York and Jurisdiction. The same jurisdiction subsequently chartered additional lodges in Guyana, St. Maarten, St. Lucia, Barbados, and Dominica, constituting them into a District administration known as the New York 9th District (Caribbean). In June 1975 senior members met at the New York Sheraton Hotel to commence discussion of the possible formation of an independent Caribbean Grand Lodge. Following many years of discussion the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of the Caribbean and Jurisdiction was finally inaugurated on 24 April 1993. The Grand Lodge Prince Hall São Paulo, Brazil, was chartered by the Prince Hall National Grand Lodge on August 20, 2022."

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This concludes Part I of this two part pancocojams series on Prince Hall Shriners.

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