Gayle W. Hanson, Author at

Independent Historian

Gayle W. Hanson is a historian, genealogist, lecturer and researcher for Texas Historical and Ancestry Researchers (THR) in Arlington, Texas. The purpose is to encourage, educate, and promote the study, writing, and publishing of Texas, African, Hispanic and Native American history, as well as the development of teaching aids and educational programs for researchers, schools, and the general public.

Ms. Hanson has research experience in public and university libraries, archives, state and local repositories, and special collections. Her area of expertise is historical research (Slavery to World War II) and family history. Ms. Hanson is presently working on several historical projects: the WPA Federal Writers Project Ex-Slave Narratives of Tarrant County, the Early Negro Schools of Tarrant County and the Jeanes Supervisors of Texas.

Reby Cary (1920-2018)

Reby Cary, educator, community activist, politician, entrepreneur and World War II veteran, was born on September 9, 1920, in Fort Worth, Texas, to Reverend Smith and Maggie B. Cary. A graduate of I. M. Terrell High School in 1937, he received his Bachelor of Arts … Read MoreReby Cary (1920-2018)

Calvin Littlejohn (1909-1993)

Calvin Littlejohn was an African American photographer in Fort Worth, Texas, who documented the black community for more than forty years, between the 1940s and the early 1990s. Through his photographs he celebrated the richness and complexity of black culture in segregated Fort Worth. Calvin … Read MoreCalvin Littlejohn (1909-1993)

Steve Harvey (1957- )

Steve Harvey is a media conglomerate personified in a man whose career began doing stand-up comedy in the mid-1980s. His success as a stand-up comedian led to multiple TV shows and movies, acting, hosting, writing and producing. He became a top-rated radio host, fashion entrepreneur, … Read MoreSteve Harvey (1957- )

Hazel Harvey Peace (1903-2008)

Fort Worth educator Hazel Bernice Harvey Peace was born on August 4, 1903, in Waco, Texas, to Allen H. and Georgia Mason Harvey. Peace graduated from the Fort Worth Colored High School (later I. M. Terrell High School) in Fort Worth in 1919. She obtained … Read MoreHazel Harvey Peace (1903-2008)

Mansfield (Texas) School Desegregation Incident (1955-1965)

The desegregation of public schools in Mansfield, Texas was one of the most contentious in the state and eventually garnered national attention as the evolving civil rights struggles moved to the forefront of the country’s conscience. In Mansfield, African Americans campaigning for civil rights in … Read MoreMansfield (Texas) School Desegregation Incident (1955-1965)

Riley Andrew Ransom Sr. (1886-1951)

Dr. Riley Andrew Ransom Sr., the founder of the first hospital for African Americans in Fort Worth, Texas, was born on March 9, 1886, in Columbus, Kentucky, to parents Allen and Alice Ransom. Ransom briefly attended Lane College in Tennessee then transferred to Southern Illinois … Read MoreRiley Andrew Ransom Sr. (1886-1951)