Ribbon cutting at the Betsy Price Community Center, June 14
If you’ve lived in Fort Worth for very long, you surely recognize the name Betsy Price. She’s the longest serving mayor – five terms, 10 years – and has been active in the life of the city for way longer than that.
A ribbon cutting at the Betsy Price Community Center, 8475 Blue Mound Road, is scheduled for 10 a.m. June 14.
But beyond Mayor Betsy, who are the folks who have been honored with a community center named for them? Let’s look into it:
- Atatiana Carr-Jefferson. This location, officially known as Atatiana Carr-Jefferson Community Center at Hillside, honors a Fort Worth woman who was tragically shot and killed by a former Fort Worth police officer in 2019 while babysitting her nephew in her southside home. If you go: This center has arguably one of the best views of downtown Fort Worth in the city.
- R.D. Evans. Evans joined the city’s Recreation Department as director of athletics in 1922, the same year the department was organized. Evans became the Recreation Department’s second superintendent in 1924. Much like the city itself, the Recreation Department grew tremendously during his tenure. If you go: This center is within walking distance of trails, fishing ponds, even a dog park. But its innovative programming doubles down on creativity and education.
- Martin Luther King Jr. This widely known figure in the American civil rights movement fought for equality and justice for Black people through peaceful protest. He was instrumental in the passage of landmark legislation like the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act. If you go: You’re just in time. Meetings are ongoing to receive input on the design, planning and construction of a new Martin Luther King Community Center and aquatics center.
- Eugene McCray. He was an All-American football player at Bethune-Cookman College from 1949-53. While serving as mayor pro tem, he succeeded in getting a community center for Stop Six placed in a bond package. When the $1.5 million community center opened in 2002, it was named in his memory. Lake Arlington Park, also in southeast Fort Worth, was renamed Eugene McCray Park after his 1998 death. If you go: The center’s new commercial kitchen and 120-person meeting space make it the perfect place to host a special event.
- Andrew “Doc” Session. An educator, track coach and counselor at I. M. Terrell High School, Session had a profound impact on thousands of students. Along with other neighborhood activists, Session helped purchase land on Sylvania Avenue and donated it for the construction of a community center. Following Session’s death in 2002, the center was rededicated in his memory. If you go: Case workers are onsite to assist families through Community Action Partners (CAP) programs and services.
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