Main Street District in Dallas in Dallas County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)

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Lynching in America
⎯⎯⎯
The Lynching of Allen Brooks

Community Remembrance Project

Lynching in America image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Jeff Leichsenring, September 6, 2023

1. Lynching in America

Inscription. Lynching in AmericaIn the summer of 1860, three enslaved Black men were falsely accused of arson, which enraged enslavers and white residents in Dallas. The three men were lynched by a white mob and an order was issued that every enslaved Black person should be whipped as a warning. One month later, Texas seceded from the Union. Following the Civil War, fierce resistance to equal rights for Black people and an ideology of white supremacy led to fatal violence against Black women, men and children. Between 1865 and 1950, thousands of African Americans were victims of mob violence and lynching across the United States. Lynching emerged as the most public, notorious form of racial terrorism, and white mobs acted with impunity, rarely facing legal repercussions for their crimes. White press coverage regularly defended lynchings as justified, and lynch mob members were almost never arrested or prosecuted. Deep racial hostility resulted in targeting and menacing of Black communities after alleged crimes involving white victims. Within a year of the lynching of Mr. Brooks, the city removed the Elks Arch. Over 338 racial terror

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lynchings of Black people have been documented in Texas, 7 of which are known to have taken place in Dallas County.

The Lynching of Allen BrooksOn March 3, 1910, a 59-year-old Black handyman named Allen Brooks was lynched by a white mob at this intersection. Mr. Brooks was accused-without evidence-of assaulting his white employer's daughter. During a pre-trial hearing for Mr. Brooks at the Dallas County Courthouse (now the Old Red Courthouse), a mob of at least 3,000 white men gathered at the courthouse, demanding that Mr. Brooks be lynched. Members of the mob broke into the courtroom, seized Mr. Brooks from law enforcement officers, tied a rope around his neck, and threw him from the second-floor window of the courthouse, fracturing his skull upon impact. A separate faction of the mob surrounded Mr. Brooks, kicking and beating him before dragging him several blocks to this intersection of Main and Akard Streets. The brutal lawless violence continued near the Elks Arch, where Mr. Brooks was hanged from a telegraph pole in front of 5,000 onlookers. Photographs of Mr. Brooks' lynched body were widely circulated, and attendees took

The Lynching of Allen Brooks Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Jeff Leichsenring, September 6, 2023

2. The Lynching of Allen Brooks Marker

pieces of his clothing as souvenirs. Though several members of the mob gave newspaper interviews, no one was ever held responsible for the lynching of Allen Brooks.

Erected 2021 by Equal Justice Initiative, Dallas County Remembrance Project.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Civil Rights. In addition, it is included in the Lynching in America series list. A significant historical date for this entry is March 3, 1910.

Location. Marker is missing. It was located near 32° 46.833′ N, 96° 47.969′ W. Marker was in Dallas, Texas, in Dallas County. It was in the Main Street District. It was at the intersection of Main Street and North Akard Street on Main Street. Touch for map. Marker was at or near this postal address: 1434 Main St, Dallas TX 75201, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker was in the Prairies & Lakes Region.

Globally, it was in North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it found itself in what was once New Spain,

the Republic of Texas,

one of the Confederate

Lynching in America Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Jeff Leichsenring, November 28, 2022

3. Lynching in America Marker

States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this location: Busch-Kirby Building (within shouting distance of this marker); The Magnolia (Mobil) Building (within shouting distance of this marker); Adolphus Hotel (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Original Site of Neiman-Marcus (about 600 feet away); Neiman-Marcus (about 800 feet away); City of Dallas (approx. ¼ mile away); First Baptist Church (approx. ¼ mile away); Higginbotham-Bailey Building (approx. 0.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Dallas.

Related marker. Click here for another marker that is related to this marker.

Also see . . . Marker commemorating the lynching of Allen Brooks torn down and stolen.WFAA news. (Submitted on May 26, 2025, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.)

Lynching in America/Lynching of Allen Brooks Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Jeff Leichsenring, November 28, 2022

4. Lynching in America/Lynching of Allen Brooks Marker

Photographed by Brandon D Cross

5. The Lynching of Allen Brooks Marker

“A Replica marker of one side is located at the Equal Justice Initiatives' National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Alabama. The Equal Justice Initiative supports efforts to locally memorialize documented victims of racial violence and to educate communities about the history of racial injustice.” Mark Hilton

Credits. This page was last revised on May 26, 2025. It was originally submitted on January 30, 2023, by Jeff Leichsenring of Garland, Texas. This page has been viewed 886 times since then and 75 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on September 6, 2023, by Jeff Leichsenring of Garland, Texas. 3, 4. submitted on January 30, 2023, by Jeff Leichsenring of Garland, Texas. 5. submitted on October 16, 2024, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida. • J. Makali Bruton was the editor who published this page.

Lynching in America⎯⎯⎯The Lynching of Allen Brooks

Community Remembrance Project

Lynching in America
⎯⎯⎯
The Lynching of Allen Brooks