The MW Grand Lodge of AF&AM of West Virginia has extended recognition to the MW Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Tennessee. Yes, that's correct. Tennessee, not West Virginia.
My understanding is that they had originally reached out to the MW Prince Hall Grand Lodge of West Virginia, who turned down their request.
According to a letter dated October 23rd (click image to enlarge), West Virginia's Grand Master Steven C. Moss informed the Prince Hall Masons in nearby Tennessee that his members voted favorably at their annual communication on October 14th. The letter to MW L. Lamont Banks, Grand Master of the MWPHGL of Tennessee, is currently in circulation on social media.
This situation is similar to what happened in Louisiana in 2022. The Grand Lodge of Louisiana exchanged reciprocal recognition with the MW Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Maryland, in no small part due to serious problems within the MWPHGL of Louisiana and its Grand Master Ralph Slaughter. The general feeling within the mainstream Louisiana grand lodge at that time was favorable to recognizing Prince Hall Masons as regular, but not Louisiana's. The MWPHGL of Louisiana was tossed out of the Conference of Grand Masters - Prince Hall Affiliated in 2024 for engaging in irregular practices and policies. Presumably, whenever they solve their internal problems, joint recognition there will be passed.
Hopefully, the Prince Hall Masons of West Virginia will find a way to solve their objections with the Grand Lodge AF&AM of West Virginia sooner than later.
So, technically, there are now just three remaining so-called 'mainstream' U.S. grand lodges that have not yet voted favorably on Prince Hall recognition: Arkansas, Mississippi, and South Carolina. After all, it's ONLY been 36 years since Connecticut passed the first joint recognition with their Prince Hall counterparts.
These things take time, you know...
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