FORT WORTH — Stepping onto the grass lot at the corner of NE 12th Street and Samuels Avenue still weighs heavily on Fred Rouse III, the history on that lot being quite personal for him.

“Just being here, it’s almost a surreal type feeling,” said Rouse, looking around. “This is the exact spot that 100 years ago today, he was murdered.”

‘He’ was the man who Rouse shares a name with, the grandfather he never met: Fred Rouse.

On Dec. 11, 1921, back when that lot was still farm land, local historians say Fred Rouse Sr. was dragged from his hospital bed to that spot by an angry mob — many of whom had put him in the hospital five days prior.

Being Black, Rouse Sr. wasn’t allowed to join a labor union, and as a result was one of the non-union workers operating the Swift and Co. meatpacking plant during a labor strike. The plant sat near the modern day Fort Worth Stockyards, then called the Niles City Stockyards.

One day, Rouse Sr. was confronted by the strikers near the plant and brutally attacked. Historians say he was even lit on fire but ultimately survived. But Rouse Sr.’s grandson said that would only last five days as that mob came back for him.

“He was kidnapped out of the city and county hospital, beaten, stabbed, shot until his body was riddled with bullets,” said Rouse.

Rouse Sr. was then lynched from a tree on that lot, which historians said was known as “the death tree” at the time. After his body was buried, members of the Tarrant County Coalition for Peace and Justice (TCCPJ) said indictments were handed down against some of the men who took part in Rouse’s murder, but ultimately no one was found guilty despite overwhelming evidence.

Rouse Sr. was practically forgotten by most.

However, Rouse III said his family could never forget the injustice against his grandfather, and that’s why he stood on that lot again 100 years later.

Recently, Rouse has joined together with TCU professor Adam McKinney and other local activists to form the TCCPJ, with the goal of recognizing the victims of past racial terror in the county and working toward a better future as a community through healing. Their first attempt was to see Rouse Sr.’s name and life remembered in the city again, including the brutality against him that ultimately led to his death.

After a lot of work, their first attempt was made. On Dec. 11, exactly 100 years after Rouse Sr.’s lynching, the group placed a memorial marker for him on the land, with plans to create an entire memorial.

“We must look back together as a community … to literally and figuratively put back history’s shattered pieces in order to make meaning and systemic change in the present and future," said McKinney.

For Rouse and his family, another major step toward healing came on those heavy grounds on that cold Saturday.

Fort Worth City Council members read a proclamation during the ceremony to name that day as Mr. Fred Rouse Sr.’s Memorial Day. And, for the first time, the injustice that took place on that spot 100 years ago was officially recognized.

McKinney and other members of the TCCPJ read the names of other known lynching victims and hope to see more recognized in the community.

That day was finally a bit of peace for Rouse III and his family, after 100 years of pain.

“Everyone here has the ability to love one another,” said Rouse III as he addressed the crowd at the dedication. “My name is Fred Rouse III, and in my speech to America, I want to say: Take the rope off our necks!”