{"id":159700,"date":"2025-08-20T00:10:16","date_gmt":"2025-08-20T00:10:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/159700\/"},"modified":"2025-08-20T00:10:16","modified_gmt":"2025-08-20T00:10:16","slug":"fort-worth-park-memorializing-black-lynching-victim-closer-to-being-funded","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/159700\/","title":{"rendered":"Fort Worth park memorializing Black lynching victim closer to being funded"},"content":{"rendered":"

A memorial park honoring the city\u2019s only recorded Black lynching victim<\/a> will soon have the money needed to become a reality.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Fort Worth officials announced during an Aug. 19 work session plans to allocate $232,377 to support construction of the Mr. Fred Rouse Memorial<\/a> at 1000 NE 12th St.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Council members are expected to approve the remaining funds for the memorial Aug. 26.<\/p>\n

Fred Rouse III, the grandson of Fred Rouse, said he\u2019s \u201cappreciative\u201d to receive the remaining funds to get the memorial off the ground after years of community leaders working to honor his grandfather\u2019s life. Community organizations Rainwater Charitable Foundation, Episcopal Diocese and the Mellon Foundation have contributed nearly $1.3 million to the project.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of people put a lot of heart and sweat into this,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The north Fort Worth memorial park will feature a botanical garden, a monument wall dedicated to Rouse and a timeline of events leading to his murder. It will be managed by Transform 1012, the nonprofit developing the Fred Rouse Center for Arts and Healing at a former Ku Klux Klan auditorium<\/a> at 1012 N. Main St.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Carlos Gonzalez-Jaime, executive director of Transform 1012, said the city\u2019s funding represents an important step in acknowledging Rouse\u2019s story and supporting the work of \u201ctruth-telling and repair in Fort Worth.\u201d<\/p>\n

Who was Fred Rouse?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Rouse was a Black non-union butcher for a meatpacking company in the Stockyards who was lynched at the corner of NE 12th Street<\/a> and Samuels Avenue on Dec. 11, 1921.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While workers in the Stockyards were on strike, companies hired non-union workers such as Rouse to replace them. Newspaper accounts at the time reported that during a Dec. 6 clash outside the packinghouses, Rouse shot and injured two white strikers. He then was attacked by a mob and left to die.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On the way to the mortuary, police discovered Rouse was still alive and took him to the segregated basement ward of what was then the City & County Hospital at 330 E. 4th St.<\/a> The building is now the Maddox-Muse Center, which is part of the Bass Performance Hall complex downtown.<\/p>\n

Five days later, he was kidnapped from the ward and taken to a tree where he was hanged and shot. He is the only Black American known to have been lynched in Tarrant County.<\/p>\n

Memorial park spotlights racial reconciliation<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"Timeka Gordon, advisory board member of the Tarrant County Coalition for Peace and Justice, Richard Rouse, center, and LaFonda Rouse, right, clap at the unveiling of a historical marker at the Maddox-Muse Center Dec. 11, 2021. (File photo | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n

In December 2021, the Tarrant County Coalition for Peace and Justice, a nonprofit dedicated to memoralizing victims of racial violence, placed historic markers at the lynching site<\/a> and outside the Maddox-Muse Center detailing his abduction.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The coalition collaborated with the Fort Worth-based Rainwater Charitable Foundation to purchase the land where Rouse was murdered with plans to develop the lot into a community memorial park<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Organizers intended to complete the work in 2024 but faced funding delays. They expressed that the memorial will serve to ensure Rouse\u2019s humanity and legacy are never forgotten.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is both a space for remembrance and a commitment to building a more just and equitable future for our communities,\u201d Gonzalez-Jaime said in a statement.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Click here<\/a> to take a virtual tour of the proposed Mr. Fred Rouse Memorial site.<\/p>\n

The city\u2019s contribution completing the project\u2019s finances will come from the Fort Worth Community Partnerships program, which serves to foster community investment, improve local services and address specific neighborhood needs, Fort Worth officials said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The coalition submitted an initial funding request to the city of Fort Worth in April 2024 before sending an updated report detailing the memorial\u2019s construction cost in June.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Council member Elizabeth Beck, who attended the historic marker dedication in 2021, said during Tuesday\u2019s work session that she\u2019s thankful for city management\u2019s efforts to fund the project.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was one of the first things I did on council, so it\u2019s exciting to see it come to fruition,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd I\u2019m thankful for having that (community partnership) fund that allows us to do unique projects like this.\u201d<\/p>\n

The memorial is expected to be complete in early December to coincide with the 104th anniversary of Rouse\u2019s murder.<\/p>\n

David Moreno is the arts and culture reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at david.moreno@fortworthreport.org or @davidmreports<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Disclosure: The Rainwater Charitable Foundation has been a financial supporter<\/a> of the Fort Worth Report. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\tRelated\n<\/p>\n

Fort Worth Report is certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative<\/a> for adhering to standards for ethical journalism.<\/p>\n

Republish This Story<\/p>\n

\"Creative<\/a><\/p>\n

Republishing is free for noncommercial entities. Commercial entities are prohibited without a licensing agreement. Contact us for details. <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t