Home Tuesday, 16 March 2010

Did You Know?

On January 13, 1777, Hall was among eight black petitioners to the Massachusetts state legislature requesting the abolition of slavery in the state. Hall's signature was one of four belonging to Masons, whose names topped the document. The petition adopted the same terminology used by the nation's founding fathers to state their case for freedom from Britain. It was also similar to one sent to Governor Thomas Gage on May 25, 1774, which had been rejected by the British governor. State legislators referred the 1777 petition to the Congress of the Confederation, possibly as a way to avoid the issue Read more

Did You Know?

In 1786 another rebellion began brewing in the western half of Massachusetts. Named for Captain Daniel Shays, the Shays' Rebellion pitted former patriots who had returned to debt-ridden properties, mostly farms, against the moneyed classes who controlled the banks that were now foreclosing on them. Governor James Bowdoin called for troops to travel west to crush Shay's insurgents. On November 26, Hall wrote a letter to Bowdoin offering the governor the services of 700 black troops he said he could raise; but Hall's offer, which may have been made to declare the black community's loyalty to the new state, was Read more

Did You Know?

Prince Hall reversed his loyalty to the state government and proposed that the state organize a back-to-Africa movement in a petition of January 4, 1787. Leading a committee of 12 members from the African Lodge, Hall proposed that the state secure funds for sending Massachusetts' black population to a point on the African coast. The proposal also called for a colonization effort that would result in mutual benefit to both parties, including extensive future trade between the two states. The petition, which appears to be the first major statement on African colonization by black Americans, died in committee. Read more

Did You Know?

In early February 1788, three free black Bostonians, one a Mason, were lured aboard a ship by a captain promising work. Instead, the men were kidnapped, shipped to the Caribbean, and sold as slaves. In a February 27 petition attacking the slave trade, Hall and 21 other Masons stated their outrage at the seizure of their fellow citizens. The state legislature passed an act on March 26 designed to prohibit the slave trade within the state's borders and to provide recourse for the families of those abducted. Sufficient pressure was applied by Governor John Hancock and the French consul in Read more

Did You Know?

In 1800 Hall made a second request to the selectmen of Boston to acquire a building for a black school. After another refusal, Hall offered his own home for the school. A pair of Harvard College students served as teachers until 1806. At that point, increased enrollment forced a move to larger facilities, which were provided by the African Society House on Belknap Street. Read more

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Date set for monument to Prince Hall PDF Print E-mail
Thursday, 04 March 2010 16:34
Unveiling Date has been set for May 15th, 2010 - Itinerary will be available soon so please stay tuned!
 
Prince Hall Commemorated In Cambridge City Hall! PDF Print E-mail
Thursday, 14 January 2010 19:09
plaque
Cambridge, Mass. (January 12, 2010)-On Thursday, December 17, 2009, former Mayor E. Denise Simmons accepted and unveiled a plaque that has been given to the City of Cambridge. The plaque was presented by the Most Worshipful Grand Master, Anthony I. Jakes, Sr. of the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Massachusetts F&AM. Alongside Grand Master Jakes, was the Past Grand Jr. Wardon of the Grand Lodge of MA F&AM, Ernie Pearlstein, former Mayor E. Denise Simmons, and former Vice Mayor Sam Seidel. Simmons said, “It brings me great joy to see the Prince Hall initiative come to fruition. This commemoration has been long overdue. I am proud to serve as Mayor in a city that supports history.” Click here to read  the full Press Release
 
Progress with Prince Hall Monument PDF Print E-mail
Wednesday, 06 January 2010 20:46
mayormayor

A week before Christmas, artist Ted Clausen, worked with the landscape architecture to  install the brackets which are needed to complete the installation of the monument. (In photo Mayor E. Denise Simmons).
 
Prince Hall Proclaimed a Founding Father PDF Print E-mail
Monday, 02 February 2009 14:28

On October 20, 2008, Red Mitchell, Chairman of Masonic Education for the MWPHGL of MA, presented an argument to consider Prince Hall a Founding Father of this nation to the City Council of Cambridge, MA.  and was passed.  On December 15th, 2009, a formal plaque was hung within the halls of the city of Cambridge, MA., city hall - making Cambridge, MA., the first municipality to, one, proclaim Prince Hall a Founding Father of this nation as well as the first memorialize this moment within the halls of the city of Cambridge for generations to come. Read the resolution proclaiming Prince Hall a Founding Father.
 
Donations PDF Print E-mail
Saturday, 07 February 2009 16:39

“To make a gift please visit www.princehallmemorialfund.org. Gifts will not and cannot be accepted by the City of Cambridge, the Office of the Mayor or the Prince Hall Committee, Conflict of Interest Opinion, EC-COI-32-28.”
 
Welcome to the Prince Hall Memorial PDF Print E-mail
Thursday, 12 October 2006 12:00

Effort Launched for Memorial to Prince Hall on Cambridge Common Cambridge Figure to be First African American Honored on Historic Ground. CAMBRIDGE – An effort has begun to place a memorial to Prince Hall, the 18th Century Patriot and Civil Rights Advocate, on the historic Cambridge Common.  A committee formed by Mayor E. Denise Simmons has gained preliminary approval from the Cambridge Historic Commission to design and place the memorial on the Common’s rotunda – near the George Washington Memorial.
 

This would be the first monument in recognition of any African American on the Cambridge Common, historic for being the site where General George Washington formed the Continental Army.

“Prince Hall’s life and legacy in the days before and after the American Revolution proved to be the foundation on which the modern civil rights movement was built,” said Mayor Simmons.  “He advocated for the inclusion of African Americans in the Continental Army, an end to slavery, and for the education of black children.  He formed organizations where African Americans could gather and speak that remain vital to this day – all at a time when it was dangerous to do so.”

“The Cambridge Common is in many ways hallowed ground, with monuments to important people and events in the history of Cambridge, and the entire nation.  Yet, it is sadly absent any reference to the experience of African Americans in that history.  By memorializing Prince Hall, and the principles he stood for, we pay homage to those that suffered through slavery, and honor those that fought against it, and provided a foundation for what would become the modern Civil Rights Movement,” said Mayor Simmons.
 
Prince Hall Memorial Groundbreaking Ceremony PDF Print E-mail
Tuesday, 28 October 2008 18:42

gb7:00 P.M., Tuesday, July 15th.  Noble (R.W.) Earl W. Cole, Jr. and I were punctually ushered into the office of Most Worshipful Brother Leslie A. Lewis, Grand Master of the Prince Hall Grand Lodge, A. & F.M., Jurisdiction of Massachusetts.  M.W. Lewis inducted us with full membership privileges into the historic African Lodge 459. We were each presented our numbered membership medallions and inscribed lambskin aprons.   Our membership certificates are being prepared and will be presented at a later date.  Our good friends and Prince Hall Brethren, R.W. Raymond T. Coleman, Grand Historian, and Brother Red T. Mitchell, Jr. witnessed the ceremony.

I am not certain of the precedent, but I now have two lambskin aprons that will accompany my mortal remains when what I hope is a far-off eventual date, I am invested in the Celestial Lodge. 
 
Read more...
 
P.H. Artist Ted Clausen PDF Print E-mail
Sunday, 01 February 2009 16:37

 

I have created public art for 15 years. My goal is to create work which speaks honestly of the human conditions of our time, and will continue to speak of us to the generations that follow.
 
At the core of each of my works is words; most often the real words of real people. I believe in the power of words to ‘take you there’, to create complexities of thought and feeling which inspire you to learn more about the theme of the work. The texts I choose can be informational, educational, humorous, thought provoking, annoying, and
Read more...
 

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