Published 2/7/2023
On this Tour Tuesday, we continue our Black History Month celebration
by recognizing the Reby Cary Youth Library in East Fort Worth.
Named for Reby Cary, a Fort Worth native, I.M. Terrell High School graduate, and the first Black Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²ÊÖ±²¥¿ª½± School Board trustee, the library opened in 2021 as the city’s first youth library designed specifically with children and teens in mind.
“The Reby Cary Youth Library will enhance Cary’s legacy as a pioneering educator who served his country and community in a multitude of powerful ways,” reads a mural at the library’s entrance.
The library is located at the 3800 block of E. Lancaster Ave. in Fort Worth. Adjacent to the library is a city park also named for Mr. Cary. In 2022, the city unveiled Reby Cary Memorial Street in the Carver Heights neighborhood at the intersection of East Rosedale Street and East Loop 820.
Born in Fort Worth in 1920, Mr. Cary was a 1937 I.M. Terrell High School
graduate. A military veteran, he became one of the first African Americans to graduate from the U.S. Coast Guard radioman school. After serving his country in World War II, he returned to Fort Worth, established a college, and went on to teach history and serve as a counselor at FWÏã¸ÛÁùºÏ²ÊÖ±²¥¿ª½±’s Paul Lawrence Dunbar High School.
He went on to become Tarrant County Junior College’s first Black instructor in 1967 and the University of Texas at Arlington’s first Black professor in 1969.
In 1974, Mr. Cary became the first African American elected to the Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²ÊÖ±²¥¿ª½± Board of Education. Five years later, he was elected to the Texas House of Representatives, and served three terms.
In his lifetime, he authored more than 20 books on the history of African Americans in Fort Worth and the military. An introduction to , a collection of correspondence, clippings, and other historical memorabilia related to the careers and interests of Mr. Cary is available on the City of Fort Worth website.
Mr. Cary was among the first former students added to the Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²ÊÖ±²¥¿ª½± Wall of Fame in 2009. 
Mr. Cary died in 2018. He was 98.
For more on how FWÏã¸ÛÁùºÏ²ÊÖ±²¥¿ª½± is celebrating Black History Month, visit /blackhistorymonth.
