I left because of the racism and constant divisions. It's supposed to be a brotherhood of whom all believe in God and do good works but there were those that forced the doctrines of their church on others. There were actually Black Prince Hall Masons because the lodges in the south wouldn't accept them. When I asked why the excuse was...Its been the tradition throughout the centuries.
Prince Hall lodges have been around since the late 1700s in fact George Washington became interested in masonry because of his visit to a Prince Hall lodge. Previously during slavery, slaves and former slaves couldnt join non prince hall lodges because they were not “free born” because you can not make a free choice to become one if you have a master. Later after the end of slavery this prohibition continued for a while but eventually most lodges have no such issue. But because of the existence of Prince Hall lodges black men have normally gravitated there anyway because of the legacy. Im sure there have been certain lodges that rejected blacks after the end of slavery, but this is not WHY there are Prince Hall Masons. Additionally i am a member of a regular lodge in the south and we have numerous black men who are members of our lodge so we dont really have that issue.
I left because of the racism and constant divisions. It's supposed to be a brotherhood of whom all believe in God and do good works but there were those that forced the doctrines of their church on others. There were actually Black Prince Hall Masons because the lodges in the south wouldn't accept them. When I asked why the excuse was...Its been the tradition throughout the centuries.
Prince Hall lodges have been around since the late 1700s in fact George Washington became interested in masonry because of his visit to a Prince Hall lodge. Previously during slavery, slaves and former slaves couldnt join non prince hall lodges because they were not “free born” because you can not make a free choice to become one if you have a master. Later after the end of slavery this prohibition continued for a while but eventually most lodges have no such issue. But because of the existence of Prince Hall lodges black men have normally gravitated there anyway because of the legacy. Im sure there have been certain lodges that rejected blacks after the end of slavery, but this is not WHY there are Prince Hall Masons. Additionally i am a member of a regular lodge in the south and we have numerous black men who are members of our lodge so we dont really have that issue.
I was a member 40 years ago so I am sure it's changed substantially. A lot of the older guys at that time were stuck in their ways.