Prince Hall - not a title – is the name of an African-American raised as a Master Mason on MAR 6, 1775, along with 24 other African-Americans.  On 30 JUN 1784, 9 years later, Brother Prince Hall requested a warrant which was granted in APR 1787 by the Modern Grand Lodge in London.  Prince Hall was named as the first Worshipful Master. In 1827, the Lodge found itself without a Grand Lodge–and thus declared themselves independent of any Masonic authority.  Eventually, these brothers formed the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Massachusetts (named in honor of its first WM).

Today, there are 42 Prince Hall Affiliated (PHA) Grand Lodges in the U.S. with Scottish Rite, York Rite, Order of the Eastern Star, Shriners, and more.   [Scottish Rite Journal, JAN-FEB 2007]. Members of the PHA include Thurgood Marshall; Booker T. Washington (founder of the Tuskegee Institute); and Nat King Cole.

Recognition between PHA and mainstream Grand Lodges began in 1989 in Connecticut.   Now, there is mutual recognition in 40 states–the most recent state is TEXAS, in 2006.

Sam Tish, E.H.P.