Fort Worth Black executives and doctors who built businesses by helping customers who were turned away are now celebrated for their efforts.
Tourists and locals following the Fort Worth Heritage Trail can now learn more about black doctors and entrepreneurs who have overcome many challenges, including racism and segregation, to help build the city.
Community leaders and students cheered at the sight of two new historic markings honoring doctors and business leaders who helped build the Fort Worth they call home.
The father of Tarrant County Commissioner Roy C. Brooks, Dr. Marion J. Brooks, is one of several named on the historical marker.
“He taught each of his five children the responsibility to give back to the community that has done us so good,” said Brooks.
Now, more people will know a lot more about him and others thanks to Brooks’ wife.
Jennifer Giddings Brooks says she researched the city’s history and the Heritage Trail during the pandemic.
“I just felt like the black business district was missing,” Giddings Brooks said.
So she got down to work making calls and giving presentations. On Friday, several partners, including the Fort Worth Chamber and Black Chamber of Commerce and Texas Capital Bank, unveiled two markings that will be placed on the road to the Convention Center honoring the Black Medical District and Black Business District.
Downtown Fort Worth near 9th Street and Jones Street was once the entrance to a vibrant black business district, complete with restaurants, a hospital, and a Black-owned hotel.
They’re gone now, but lawyers and educators like Giddings Brooks make sure we remember their stories.
“One of my favorite quotes is, ‘To predict the future, you have to celebrate the past,’ and you have to know the past,” said Giddings Brooks.
Lawyers and educators invited students to attend the event, hoping to inspire them to work hard and achieve high goals.
“I hope people see that we might not have anything at one point, but the more we try to get what we want, the more we will get it,” said Joshua Irving, a student at the Young Men’s Leadership Academy.
To learn more about the markings and watch a movie exploring the history of the Black Medical and Business Districts, visit FortWorth.com.
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