A dedication ceremony was held Tuesday for a public memorial to victims of racial violence in Dallas.
Shadow Lines in Martyrs Park downtown sits at the site where three enslaved Black men 鈥� Patrick Jenning, the Rev. Samuel Smith and Cato Miller 鈥� were lynched in 1860 after being wrongfully accused of starting a slave revolt.
The city has been working with the historical organization Remembering Black Dallas and the Dallas County Justice Initiative on the installation since 2020 to leave a permanent reminder of one of Dallas鈥� darkest moments.
鈥淥nce you get into that space where the lynching victims are commemorated, it's just silence,鈥� DCJI president Ed Gray said at the dedication ceremony held at the Sixth Floor Museum. 鈥淎nd in the silence, you can get in the moment.鈥�
Gray has helped Remembering Black Dallas put up markers all over the city to honor the lives that were lost to racial violence. He said not only does the work bring the city together, but it鈥檚 in itself a modern representation of overcoming fear.
鈥淏lack history is Black history, but it is white history as well,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t is American history.鈥�
RE:site Studio artists Norman Lee and Shane Allbritton were selected to create the large steel installation. They modeled Shadow Lines after a sundial, casting a long shadow over the names of each victim of racially motivated violence.
鈥淎s if the shadow itself cut into the steel, indelibly etching the memory of each victim forever in the heart of the city,鈥� Lee said.
The installation bears the names of people killed by racist violence in Dallas County between 1853 and 1920 鈥� such as Jane Elkins, a rape victim accused of murder, and William Allen Taylor, who was lynched in 1884.
Remembering Black Dallas plans to install at least 10 markers throughout the city this year, including two more in Martyrs Park.
鈥淲e鈥檝e had many souls that have been lost throughout America through racial terror,鈥� Ed Gray said. 鈥淏ut as we come to grips with racial terror, we must never forget.鈥�
