SAN ANTONIO — The predominately Black fraternity Prince Hall Freemasonry dates back to the founding of this country, and the organization’s history in Texas started in San Antonio.
“We’re the oldest civil rights organization in America,” said Michael T. Anderson.
Anderson is the 22nd Grand Master of the Prince Hall Masons in Texas. The fraternity has about 3,500 members across the state.
“Trying to do something for people who are less fortunate,” Anderson said. “We want to feed to hungry. Clothe the naked.”
In 1775, abolitionist Prince Hall and 14 other Black men were initiated as Masons, meaning Black Freemasonry dates back about 250 years in the United States.
“They would not allow us to join,” Anderson said. “So, we always had to break off and do our own thing.”
For generations, the organization’s 1 million members have worked to improve communities all over. Anderson said they take good men and make them better.
Burrell Parmer has been a Mason for 20 years. For San Antonio Lodge No. 1, 2026 marks their 150th year of service. To commemorate the milestone, the City of San Antonio’s Office of Historic Preservation presented the lodge with a “History Here” marker.
“I thought it was so important to be able to be the first lodge of Prince Hall Masonry in the state of Texas,” Parmer said. “This opportunity should not be missed.”
Some Masons the public may recognize include Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall and civil rights activist Jesse Jackson.
“There’s thousands of Masons that came through all of these lodges in the last 150 years,’ Parmer said. “And they did a lot of great things for the Black race and the community at large here in San Antonio.”