Dallas historical marker recognizing lynching site back in place after vandalism
The Brief
The Dallas Parks Department temporarily reinstalled the historical marker for Allen Brooks, a Black man lynched in 1910, four weeks after it was vandalized.
Brooks was seized by a mob and hanged in downtown Dallas; no one was ever held responsible for his death.
Police aren't treating the vandalism as a hate crime, despite concerns from advocates, and full repairs are expected to take three more months.
DALLAS - The Dallas Parks Department was able to reinstall the vandalized historical marker memorializing the lynching of Allen Brooks in 1910.
The new marker is only a temporary fix until the damaged marker can be replaced.
The backstory
On March 3, 1910, Allen Brooks was lynched in Dallas.
Brooks, a Black man, was accused of raping a young white girl without evidence.
On the day he was set to face trial, members of the mob seized Brooks from law enforcement officers, tied a rope around his neck and threw him from the second floor window of the courthouse.
Brooks was dragged by the lawless mob several blocks to Main and Akard Streets,
He was then hanged from a telephone pole in front of thousands of onlookers.
No one was ever held responsible for the lynching of Allen Brooks.
Dig deeper
A historical marker that shares Brooks' story was vandalized about four weeks ago.
The marker was removed from its base, according to Ed Gray, the president of the Dallas County Justice Initiative.
Gray says the sign was sheered off, indicating the vandals had a tool to make the cut. He says the cast iron and aluminum sign would not be easy to carry far.
With no clear motive and no identified suspects, the Dallas Police Department is not treating it as a hate crime.
Gray is spearheading the effort to get a permanent replacement for the sign.
What they're saying
"For someone to go ahead and vandalize the sign and move it 30 feet away, that took effort. This wasn't a matter of just knocking a sign down, they were making a statement," Gray said. "This is a sharp reminder we still have a long ways to go if people are still vandalizing history in this way."
Gray says it was important to get the marker up quickly, and especially before Juneteenth.
"We can never forget. Because if we choose to forget, we're moving to a place in our history that I dare say would be even more troublesome than what happened to Allen Brooks," Gray said.
What's next
The full repairs are expected to take about three more months.
The Source
Information in this article comes from the Dallas Police Department and a conversation with Ed Gray, the president of the Dallas County Justice Initiative.
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