Bill Text: TX HCR54 | 2019-2020 | 86th Legislature | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: In memory of former State Representative Reby Cary.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Passed) 2019-03-21 - Signed by the Governor [HCR54 Detail]

Download: Texas-2019-HCR54-Introduced.html

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86R10589 GM-D
By: Collier H.C.R. No. 54

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The State of Texas lost a renowned civil rights
leader and public servant with the death of former State
Representative Reby Cary of Fort Worth on December 7, 2018, at the
age of 98; and
WHEREAS, Reby Cary was born in Fort Worth on September 9,
1920, to Maggie B. Cary and the Reverend Smith Cary Jr.; he grew up
during the era of segregation and attended all-black schools,
graduating from I. M. Terrell High School in 1937 and earning a
bachelor's degree in history and political science from Prairie
View A&M College in 1941; answering his nation's call to duty at the
start of World War II, he became one of the first African Americans
to enlist in the U.S. Coast Guard as an apprentice seaman and one of
the first to train as a radio operator; he served in combat in the
South Pacific and participated in the invasions of Saipan, Tinian,
Leyte, Luzon, and Okinawa; and
WHEREAS, Following his discharge in November 1945, Mr. Cary
returned to Texas and cofounded the Fort Worth Negro Chamber of
Commerce and the McDonald College of Industrial Arts, a vocational
school for black veterans who were excluded from white schools;
after completing his master's degree, he began teaching history and
government, first at Dunbar Middle School and later at Tarrant
County Junior College; in 1969, he became the first African
American professor at The University of Texas at Arlington, where
he also served as associate dean of student affairs; while there, he
led the efforts to remove the Confederate flag from the campus and
to change the school's mascot from the Rebels to the Mavericks; in
addition, he helped establish the chapters of two fraternities and
a sorority at UTA, and he played a leading role in the creation of
the school's Minorities Cultural Center, one of the first of its
kind in the Southwest; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Cary was a member of the Texas House of
Representatives from 1979 to 1985, and over the course of his three
terms in the legislature, he served as the budget and oversight
chair of the Regions, Compacts, and Districts Committee, as vice
chair of the Energy Committee, and as a member of the County
Affairs, the Rules and Resolutions, and the Government Organization
Committees; moreover, he was the first African American elected to
the Fort Worth school board, and he was a founding member of the
Frederick Douglass Republicans of Fort Worth and Tarrant County,
the president of the Black Republican Council of Texas, and a member
of the State Republican Executive Committee; and
WHEREAS, Deeply engaged in a range of community issues,
Mr. Cary was active with the Fort Worth Transportation Authority,
the Tax Appraisal Review Board of Tarrant County, the Youth
Services Bureau of Tarrant County, the Fort Worth/Tarrant County
Minority Leaders and Citizens Council, the Fort Worth Metropolitan
Black Chamber of Commerce, the Boy Scouts of America, the United
Way, and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity; in addition to his other
accomplishments, he was a prolific author, producing more than 20
volumes about the history of African Americans in Fort Worth; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Cary enjoyed the love and support of his wife,
Nadine, and they shared a rewarding marriage that spanned 58 years
until her passing in 2003; the couple were the parents of a
treasured daughter, Faith; and
WHEREAS, Reby Cary made a lasting, positive difference
through his strong commitment to social progress and public
affairs, and his contributions and achievements will long resonate
in the community and state he proudly called home; now, therefore,
be it
RESOLVED, That the 86th Legislature of the State of Texas
hereby pay tribute to the life of former State Representative Reby
Cary and extend sincere condolences to all who mourn his passing;
and, be it further
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
prepared for his family and that when the Texas House of
Representatives and Senate adjourn this day, they do so in memory of
Reby Cary.