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INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 10287
June 25, 2019
To the Mayor and Members of the City Council
Page 1 of 2
SUBJECT: NAME OF NEW LIBRARY ON EAST LANCASTER
As part of the FY2014 bond, a new family library is being built on East Lancaster. This branch will
be a city-wide resource for children, teens, and their caregivers and will be the first family library
in the Fort Worth Public Library system. At approximately 8,000 square feet, the library will focus
on creating an environment of learning, dreaming and doing. The library is scheduled to open to
the public in Summer, 2020 and will be located at 3851 E. Lancaster Ave., in between Haynes
Ave. and Mt. View Ave.
It is no easy feat to name a public building that will have that name for decades. It is worthy of
community engagement to get it right and in order to do this, the library went through a thorough
process that included:
An online submission process that brought in 123 unique name suggestions, many
multiple times. 501 submissions were received at fortworthlibrary.org/familylibrary.
Councilmember Gray, Meadowbrook Neighborhood Association President Tonya
Ferguson, and the Fort Worth Public Library leadership team each picked their top 8
names.
826 votes were logged.
Reby Cary Youth
Library.
Mr. Reby Cary served Fort Worth in every way he was able. He was a veteran of World War II,
and a leader in education, community activism, and politics.
Born in Fort Worth, Mr. Cary graduated from I. M. Terrell High School and received a history
degree from Prairie View A&M College. His education was interrupted by World War II, but after
history and political science (also at Prairie View) in 1948.
After helping establish the McDonald College of Industrial Arts for African-Americans in the
Riverside neighborhood, Mr. Cary continued his work in education as a history and government
instructor and counselor at Dunbar Middle School. In 1967, he shifted his career to higher
education as an assistant professor of history at the new Tarrant County Junior College. Two
years later, he was the first African-American professor hired by the University of Texas at
Arlington, where he was instrumental in the transition of the school mascot from the Confederate
Rebel to the Maverick. Mr. Cary was also a successful entrepreneur who established a real
estate company and advocated for black chambers of commerce locally and at the state level.
ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS
INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 10287
June 25, 2019
To the Mayor and Members of the City Council
Page 2 of 2
SUBJECT: NAME OF NEW LIBRARY ON EAST LANCASTER
In 1974, Mr. Cary was elected to the Fort Worth ISD Board of Education, another first as an
African-American. After four years in this role, he successfully campaigned to be Texas District 95
State Representative. While serving in this capacity, Mr. Cary helped pass legislation to create a
state Human Relations Commission to fight discrimination. Additionally, he served on the Tax
Appraisal Review Board and the Fort Worth Transit Authority Board.
Always passionate about recording and preserving history, Mr. Cary wrote numerous books
de-
American communities as civil rights activists and community leaders.
Fort Worth Public Library is proud to name a new library after such an influential Fort Worthian.
If you have any questions concerning this information, please contact Manya Shorr, LIbrary
Director at 817-392-7707 or manya.shorr@fortworthtexas.gov.
David Cooke
City Manager
ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS