A historical marker in downtown Dallas, Texas, that tells the story of a Black man who was lynched by a white mob in 1910 was vandalized, and now an organization dedicated to preserving Black history is making plans to replace it.
According to KERA News, the marker commemorated Allen Brooks, a 59-year-old Black man who worked as a handyman until March 3, 1910, when he was lynched by members of a mob of at least 3,000 white men who broke into a courtroom during a pre-trial hearing in which Brooks was accused without evidence of assaulting his white employer’s daughter. (A story that is nearly identical to virtually every well-known white mob lynching story ever told in America.)
According to Axios, the metal sign, which was installed at the corner of Main and Akard in 2021, was discovered missing last week and was found on Friday. The Dallas Police Department said an investigation into the damaged marker is still ongoing, but there are no known suspects. The department also said that, as of now, it is not being treated as a hate crime.
“It’s disappointing because whoever took the pains of shearing off the historical marker did a great job of it,” Edward Gray, president of the Dallas County Justice Initiative and board member at Remembering Black Dallas, told KERA. “They knew exactly what they were doing because it’s cut off exactly at the base.”
Gray said the marker, which is currently in the possession of Dallas’ Park and Recreation department, will either be completely redone or sent to the Equal Justice Initiative in Alabama, the organization that built it, for an exact replica.
Of course, it’s unclear how long the process of replacing or rebuilding the marker will take.
From KERA:
Gray wanted the plaque to be up by Juneteenth, but manufacturing delays will slow that down. He said he wants a new marker on display as soon as possible because history isn’t something that should be forgotten, he said – it’s something that should be told.
“In the United States we are victims of whitewashing as well as brainwashing and this is what this story is about,” he said. “This story is about making sure that it is not told as Black history, it is not told as Texas history, but it is told as American history.”
Gray said justice will always rise to the top.
“It’s sort of like when you’re planting a tree. Sometimes you need to move the tree so it could get more deeply rooted,” he said. “We shall not be moved. But we are deeply rooted and justice is deeply rooted.”
Unfortunately, under the current MAGA administration, the whitewashing (or outright removal) of Black history has become normalized, and Texas has solidified itself as a state where officials are more interested in banning books and turning the clock backward than they are in preserving our stories.
The story of Allen Brooks matters, as does all Black history. Hopefully, the marker commemorating him and telling the story of the white American violence that caused his death will find its way home soon.
SEE ALSO:
Tyre Nichols Trial: Ex-Cops Acquitted In Fatal Beating Of Black Man
Sacramento White Supremacist Sentenced To Life With No Parole For Killing Black Man In Drive-By Shooting
Marker Detailing Anti-Black Lynching In Dallas Vandalized. Organizers Hope To Replace It Soon
was originally published on
newsone.com
