about prince hall masonry........
Prince Hall Masonry may as well be called the science of self-improvement. As an institution, it uses the implements of operative freemasonry to teach moral and ethical lessons, but these are only the beginning of our working tools.
Our plan is simple. Begin with a man, just one man at a time, as good a man as possible, one that is respected in his community, lives according to the laws of the land, that believes in the dignity and worth of the individual, and in his God-ordained right to achieve his destiny through his own effort. These men are committed to uphold a life of honesty, integrity, and forthrightness and are strong supporters of the fundamental principles of physical, intellectual, moral, political, and religious freedom. Through Prince Hall Masonry these men, again and again, are shown how they can become better -- not better than their fellow man, but better than themselves. |
Piedmont District III strives within our neighborhoods to build bridges with schools, churches and local businesses by establishing relationships that they can utilize in the future for a variety of purposes. Along with the many service projects mentioned on this site, we also make regular visitations to the churches and religious organizations of our members to show our support for their individual families and spiritual engagement.
Our District recently celebrated Black History Month by participating in the annual York Rite Visitation hosted by Israel CME Metropolitan Church of Greenville, SC
There are three theological virtues: faith, hope, and charity. By faith, we believe in God and believe all that he has revealed to us and that our religion proposes for our belief. By hope we desire, and with steadfast trust wait from God, eternal life and the graces to merit it. By charity, we love God above all things and our neighbor as ourselves for love of God. Charity, the form of all the virtues, "binds everything together in perfect harmony" (Col 3:14).
Faith is the virtue by which we believe in God and believe all that he has said and revealed to us, and that Holy Church proposes for our belief, because he is truth itself. By faith "man freely commits his entire self to God." For this reason, the believer seeks to know and do God's will. "The righteous shall live by faith." Living faith "work[s] through charity."
Hope is the virtue by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness, placing trust in Christ's promises and not on our own strength, but the grace of the Holy Spirit. Hope responds to the aspiration to happiness which God has placed in the heart of every man; it is hope that inspires men purifies them. He is preserved from selfishness and led to the happiness that flows from charity.
Charity is the virtue by which we love God above all things for his own sake, and our neighbor as ourselves for the love of God. Jesus makes charity the new commandment. Whence Jesus says: "As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you; abide in my love." And again: "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you."
notable prince hall masons
Athletics
Politics and Leadership
Business
Education and Innovation
Entertainment
Journalism and Literature
Religion
- Ralph H. Metcalfe, Olympic champion & former U.S. Congressman
- Scottie Pippen, Six-time NBA Champion, Chicago Bulls
- Sugar Ray Robinson, Mid/light heavyweight boxing champion
- Jack Johnson - First black heavyweight boxing champion in U.S.
Politics and Leadership
- Maynard Jackson - First black mayor of Atlanta, GA
- Julian Bond, NAACP National Chairman
- Thomas Bradley, Former Mayor of Los Angeles, California
- Emanuel Cleaver, U.S. Congressman (MO)
- Dwight Evans, Pennsylvania State Representative
- Medger Wiley Evers, NAACP Field Secretary
- Chaka Fattah, U.S. Congressman (PA)
- Wilson Goode, First Black Mayor of Philadelphia, PA
- Augustus F. Hawkins, Former U.S. Congressman (CA)
- Benjamin L. Hooks, Former Executive Director, NAACP
- Vincent Hughes, Pennsylvanie State Senator
- Rev. Jesse Jackson, Founder, RainbowPUSH Coalition & Civil Rights Activist
- Kweisi Mfume, Former President/CEO, NAACP
- Rev. Al Sharpton, Founder, National Action Network & Civil Rights Activist
- Carl B. Stokes, First Black mayor of Cleveland, OH
- Louis Stokes, Former U.S. Congressman
- John F. Street, Former Mayor of Philadelphia, PA
- Michael C. Watson, President/CEO, Absalom Jones Foundation
- Lawrence Douglass Wilder, First black governor of Virginia, Mayor of Richmond, VA
- Andrew Young, UN Ambassador & former Mayor of Atlanta, GA
- Daniel "Chappie" James, General, U.S. Air Force
- Thurgood Marshall, Former U.S. Supreme Court Justice
- A. Phillip Randolph, Founder/ first president, International Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters
- A. Leon Higginbotham, Jr., Former federal appeals court judge
- Leon M'Ba, First President of the Republic of Gabon
- Joseph Jenkins Robert s, First President of the Republic of Liberia
- James J.G. Bias, Founder of the Philadelphia Vigilance Committee
Business
- James Forten, Entrepreneur & abolitionist
- Richard D. Gidron, President, Dick Gidron Cadillac
- John H. Johnson, Publisher Ebony and Jet magazines
- Robert S. Abbott, Founder/publisher, The Chicago Defender
- Alexander T. Augusta - First black to head a hospital in the U.S.
Education and Innovation
- Dr. W.E.B. DuBois, Educator/author
- Benjamin Mays, Former president of Morehouse College
- Booker T. Washington, Founder & first president of Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University)
- Charles H. Wesley, Author "The History of the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of the State of Ohio 1849–1971".
- Harry A. Williamson, Author/Masonic historian
- Granville T. Woods – Inventor
- Dr. Daniel Hale Williams - First surgeon to perform open heart surgery
- Arthur A. Schomburg - Historian/Author
- Lewis Howard Latimer - Inventor of the carbon filament
- Dr. Ernest Everett Just - One of the founders of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity and renowned zoologist
- Garrett A. Morgan, Sr., Inventor of traffic light and gas mask
- Henry Blair - First black to receive a U.S. patent
- Edward Bouchet - First black to be elected to the Phi Beta Kappa Society
- Martin R. Delany - First black to matriculate into Harvard Medical School
- Matthew Henson, Explorer
Entertainment
- Don King, Boxing promoter
- Richard Pryor, Actor/comedian
- Egbert Austin "Bert" Williams, Actor/ comedian
- William "Count" Basie, Composer
- James Herbert "Eubie" Blake, Composer/pianist
- Nathaniel "Nat King" Cole, Pianist and singer
- Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington, Composer
- Lionel Hampton, Composer
- William C. Handy, Composer
- Bert Williams - Actor/comedian
Journalism and Literature
- Timothy Thomas Fortune, Journalist
- Alexander Dumas – Author
- Alex Haley, Author
- Alexander Pushkin - Poet/Novelist/Playwright
- David Walker - Author of "David Walker's Appeal”
- William Wells Brown - First black to publish a novel
Religion
- Richard Allen, Founder/first bishop AME Church
- Absalom Jones - First black Priest in the Episcopal Church in U.S.