The importance of remembering the past so that it does not repeat itself, especially the mistakes and injustices that were committed in it, is something that Adam McKinney and Daniel Banks are very clear about. They are the ones who had the idea and promoted the initiative to acquire and remodel the building that was previously a Klan headquarters in the city of Fort Worth, Texas.

Transforming just that building into an arts center also aimed at community healing is something McKeinney and Banks see as important to transforming Fort Worth's history. The key is found in the name that the center will have "Fred Rouse Center for Arts and Community Healing", so who was Fred Rouse?

In 1921, the Swift & Company faced a strike by its workers. The union of white workers led the company - dedicated to packing meat - to find a butcher so that the work could continue, then Fred Rouse appears in the story. Rouse was a black man with a family who was simply looking for a job and getting paid. However, such employment put him in the middle of a conflict not only between the company and its workers, but also between radical agitators with racist ideals.

Rouse was attacked by rioters on what seemed like an ordinary day for him, as he was walking home from work. It was believed that he had been killed in such an assault, but upon learning that this was not the case, another attack was carried out on him five days later in the hospital room where he was recovering.

McKeinney and Banks intend that such history will not disappear, so they sought help to acquire the former building used by the KKK and unite the community in Fort Worth within it through art, healing the wounds and differences of the past.

Several cultural organizations in the city, once a target of Klan violence, have joined this project, including Fred Rouse III on behalf of his family. The center is planned to open in 2025 and will offer performance spaces, art exhibitions dedicated to social justice, and accessible education for its artists.

Source: ArtNews