Badger Talks Event – History of African American Freemasonry

WHEN:
February 24, 2026 @ 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm

ADMISSION: Free

WHERE:

Middleton-Ionic Masonic Center
7409 Franklin Ave
Middleton, 53562
Website

This is a free, in-person talk offered as part of the UW-Madison’s Badger Talks program. Hosted on February 24, 2026 at 6:30 PM CST by Middleton-Ionic Lodge #180 of Middleton and Prince Hall Capitol City Lodge #2 in Madison. No registration necessary for this event. This event will not be available virtually.

Dr. Kantrowitz will explore the history of African American Freemasonry, from the Revolutionary era to the early decades of the twentieth century. He is coeditor of a volume of essays exploring the history of Prince Hall Freemasonry, “All Men Free and Brethren” (Cornell University Press, 2013). His book examines “key aspects in the history of the Prince Hall Masons, from accounts of specific lodges and leaders to broader themes in African American history: abolitionist activism, the limits of freedom during Reconstruction, political oration, the role of women in the black community, and relationships between Masonry and African American churches.”
Stephen Kantrowitz writes and teaches about race, citizenship, and Native American-settler interactions in the nineteenth-century United States. His most recent work explores the transformation of American citizenship in the Civil War era through the experiences of the Ho-Chunk people. Professor Kantrowitz was born in Boston, earned his Ph.D. at Princeton University, and has been teaching at UW–Madison since 1995. He is Plaenert-Bascom and Vilas Distinguished Professor of History and the recipient of numerous awards and fellowships for his scholarship and teaching.

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