Downtown Lynching Post – A three story painted steel Elks Arch was built on Main street to commemorate the 1909 National Convention of the Fraternal Order of the Elks. So, in 1910 when someone yelled “Take him to the Arch”, the mob knew to drag Allen Brooks’ limp body from the courthouse to the corner of Main and Akard. There, Mr. Brooks was stripped of his clothing and lynched to to the northwest lamp post where his body was inflicted with more brutalities. The event was captured by a photographer who later sold the images as souvenir postcards. No one was arrested for the lynching and murder of Allen Brooks. The Elk’s Arch was relocated to Fair Park the following year. When the 1936 Texas Centennial Exposition opened at Fair Park, the Elks Arch had been “misplaced”. Today the African American Museum of Dallas has one of the Allen Brooks lynching postcards on display. 1467 Main St. Dallas TX.
All Images copyrighted by the artist, Brad Ford Smith 2023