UTA History mourns the passing of pioneering community member Reby Cary

Tuesday, Dec 18, 2018

The UTA Department of History mourns the passing of educator, community leader, and politician Reby Cary of Fort Worth.

Born in 1920, Mr. Cary had an illustrious and influential career. In addition to being the first African American to serve on the Fort Worth school board he was the first African American from Fort Worth elected to the Texas State Legislature.

Mr. Cary was also a pioneering figure for the university and the Department of History. In 1969, African-American students at UTA invited Mr. Cary to campus to discuss issues involving the display of the Confederate flag and other racist symbols and university policies. Subsequently, he achieved another milestone when he was offered and accepted the position of Assistant Dean, becoming the university’s very first African American administrator. 

No less important, Mr. Cary taught the History Department’s first African American History courses and launched the Minority Cultures Collection (MCC), a special section within the UTA Library consisting of books, journals, and other publications related to the history and cultures of African Americans, Mexican Americans, and Native Americans. Today, Reby Cary’s legacy lives on as UTA Libraries Multicultural Collection, a circulating collection covering the political, social, cultural, economic, and intellectual history of African Americans, Asian Americans, Mexican Americans, and Native Americans in the southwestern United States from United States independence to the present.

Mr. Cary served at UTA from 1969 until his election to the Texas State Legislature in 1978.

†Reby Cary (9 September 1920 – 7 December 2018)

May his memory be eternal.

-- Dr. W. Marvin Dulaney
   Professor Emeritus, Department of History