[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 197 (Thursday, December 13, 2018)]
[House]
[Page H10190]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     HONORING THE LIFE OF REBY CARY

  (Mr. VEASEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. VEASEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of a Black 
icon in the Fort Worth community, Reby Cary.
  Reby lived a monumental life, and as the former Fort Worth Star-
Telegram columnist Bobby Ray Sanders expressed: ``He was an activist 
from the heart, and he was not afraid.''
  He was among the first African Americans to graduate from the U.S. 
Coast Guard radioman school in New Jersey and the first African 
American to be elected to the Fort Worth Independent School District. 
He shared many of the successes of Black pioneers in the community, 
many of whom didn't receive the accolades they deserved in what was 
then a segregated society.
  After serving multiple tours in World War II, Mr. Cary came back to 
Tarrant County, where he started teaching history at Dunbar High School 
when it was a new high school.
  He later became the first Black instructor at Tarrant County Junior 
College. He went on to serve three terms in the Texas House of 
Representatives, continuing to serve his Carver Heights community and 
all of Fort Worth.
  Mr. Cary was a proud member of The New Rising Star Missionary Baptist 
Church in Fort Worth. He credited God for the many blessings that came 
his way and his mother for keeping him on what he called ``the straight 
and narrow.''
  He wanted to tell Black Fort Worth's story, and he wanted to ensure 
that the history of the African American community was documented and 
remembered for generations to come. He became a Black historian and 
authored 20 books about the history of African Americans in north 
Texas.
  My condolences go out to his family and friends. His presence will be 
missed but never forgotten.
  I also want to let all of his friends know in Alpha Phi Alpha 
fraternity, his church, and all of the organizations that he 
volunteered for in Fort Worth just how important that legacy was for 
him.

                          ____________________