From the Quarries

From a candlelit initiation in Boston in 1775 to the solemn unity of Masons at Congressman John Lewis’s funeral in 2020, this film traces the extraordinary journey of Prince Hall Freemasonry—a brotherhood born from exclusion that became one of the most powerful moral institutions in African-American history.

Told with historical precision and reverence, it follows Prince Hall, the free Black craftsman who petitioned the Grand Lodge of England and secured the world’s first charter for a Black Masonic lodge. Through archival records, letters, and the voices of scholars such as Ann Seymour, Christopher Hodapp, Harold Holzer, and Alton Roundtree, the narrative unfolds across revolution, emancipation, segregation, and civil rights.

This is the untold story of how a fraternity of fifteen men built a moral republic in miniature—one that shaped churches, schools, and movements for freedom. From Boston’s African Lodge No. 459 to lodges across Africa, the Caribbean, and the Americas, Prince Hall Masonry endures as a testament to fraternity, faith, and the quiet triumph of conscience over prejudice.