While many of Fort Worth’s strong civic and business leaders – men, mostly – have passed on, and the city often seems slightly adrift awaiting new leaders to take their place, we should never overlook the indispensable but too-often-unsung contributions of a strong and vital core of women who consistently push the community forward.
Ramona Bass comes to mind immediately.
Last week, she quietly took center stage at the Fort Worth Zoo to inaugurate the opening of the newly imagined and constructed “Predators of Asia & Africa” exhibit. It marked the illustrious completion of the third phase of a $130 million master plan dedicated not only to improving the zoo experience for visitors but also guaranteeing the survival of species that could become extinct in the wild.
Since orchestrating and leading the movement in 1991 to privatize operation of the city-owned zoo, Ramona has spearheaded raising over $300 million to make Fort Worth’s zoo one of the best on the planet.
Ramona’s remarks welcoming guests to the debut of the new exhibit were predictably understated, with no mention of her commanding role in transforming the once deteriorating zoo into a spectacular showplace.
Looking as though she was accepting the lead role in Out of Africa, she wore a summery leopard-themed dress; a wide-brimmed straw hat suitable for a safari and set off by a multicolored hat band conveying an international vibe; earrings that resembled rhinoceros; and dark glasses.
She cut a figure that was perfectly on point for the leader of an internationally acclaimed zoo, giving respect to the foreign lands that are home to many of the zoo’s species. Young children in the audience were surely seeing someone they would like to emulate.
They would no doubt be equally impressed by Ramona’s workday wardrobe of sneakers and casual clothes – a style befitting someone who routinely walks the zoo grounds and immerses herself in day-to-day operations from a small office housed in a converted trailer. Quietly and with fierce attention to detail, virtually nothing happens at the zoo without her crucial input.
Her comments included praise for the former leaders of Fort Worth government who helped her privatize the zoo, the late Mayor Bob Bolen and the ailing former city councilman, Bert Williams. She expressed gratitude to the citizens of Fort Worth who have donated and supported her efforts.
But nothing about Ramona.
If there is a better example than Ramona Bass of someone who leads without fanfare and self-aggrandizement, or an institution that has transformed the city and improved its quality of life more convincingly than the Fort Worth Zoo, it is difficult to find them.
Members of the “Bass family” often are lumped together when one of them makes news, but that characterization is inaccurate. There are four Bass brothers, three with spouses, and by and large they act independently. It is also patently unfair to hold all of them accountable for the actions of a few who may be controversial.
Ramona Bass is the premier representative of a family dedicated wholeheartedly to making the city better, but she remains her own person – a person who has poured her heart and soul into giving Fort Worth a world-class zoo.
She’s not done, by the way. Next up is the fourth and final phase of the master plan – a new habitat that will allow guests to wind through tree-lined trails surrounded by animals native to some of the world’s lushest forests and jungles.
Ramona Bass may be the most visible and her contributions the most tangible but she is far from alone as a female leader of substance and character in our community. Remerging just recently in a role of strong conviction and bold leadership, in fact, is Sheila Johnson, the philanthropist and longtime champion of the arts and health care.
Johnson has joined the fray in the ongoing and painfully public dispute pitting Bishop Michael Olson against the Discalced Carmelite Nuns of Arlington.
Olson will need the backing of Pope Francis and perhaps divine intervention if he hopes to stare down and bully Sheila Johnson. She shares the bishop’s Catholic faith but abhors his actions toward the Carmelites, and whether he knows it or not he is in a public relations and probably legal battle he cannot win – particularly if he covets the Arlington real estate that is home to the Carmelites and their Monastery of the Most Holy Trinity.
At this point, neither canon law nor secular civic law matter. The public relations battle has been lost and the Diocese of Fort Worth will carry forever a mark as black as the ones that adorn the faithful’s foreheads on Ash Wednesday.
This is a bishop charged with representing Jesus but acting like the Ayatollah Khomeini. Would that he follow the example of Pope Francis who recently recorded a compassionate video message to a dying 17-year-old girl from Portugal who longed to meet him.
“I accompany you on this journey that you are making,” said the pontiff. “I accompany you and I know that you will be well received. I accompany you by praying for you, praying with you, and looking at Jesus, who is always waiting for us.”
The pope closed by saying: “And now I give you my blessing so that it may also give you strength on this journey.”
Bishop Olson is attacking a wheelchair-bound nun who lives on a feeding tube.
Sheila has become the voice of many Catholics raised not to challenge the authority of the church – a church that still refuses to allow women to be priests. Many of those people will be with her in court.
Ramona Bass and Sheila Johnson are frequently identified by family ties, spouses, and family lineage. It seems somewhat disparaging to describe them in the shadow of a husband or other family members but it would be avoiding the obvious not to mention Sheila’s mother.
If she is not a striking example of the apple falling not far from the tree, then who is? Her mother, Ruth Carter Stevenson, was a tornado of a person who when she set her mind on a goal accomplished it. When she needed to, she could discard the white gloves and wage battle head on, toe-to-toe, with the ferocity of one of those tigers in Ramona’s zoo.
Sheila was chair of Cook Children’s back in its formative years and she often faced hostile forces on her board. Calling it like it is she had to fight men who wanted power and did not want to follow a woman leader. Never once did she acquiesce or back down in her devotion to children’s health and quality care.
Today, Cook Children’s is, like the zoo, among this city’s finest assets.
Sheila’s mother, daughter of Amon G. Carter, legendary publisher and perhaps the greatest civic leader and champion of Fort Worth the city has ever known, personally donated the land for the nuns’ monastery. She also donated land for other institutions in Tarrant County.
Sheila, who has privately supported the Carmelite nuns in a variety of ways over the years, believes the bishop covets that land and wants to wrest if from the nuns.
Taking one of the great stances against a powerful man embroiled in a stew he has brewed, she now owns one of the great quotes in Fort Worth history.
She said if the bishop comes for the land her mother donated he will be met by Sheila at the gate: “I would get out there in front of the gates with a shotgun to protect the monastery. Of course, it wouldn’t be loaded.”
Her determination to fight for the nuns against the bishop has galvanized those supporting the nuns. She has become the central story reporters want to tell.
We can also look to other women who have led and continue to be examples of strength and conviction. Fort Worth educator/activist Opal Lee has received much attention and praise nationwide and worldwide for her successful effort to make Juneteenth a national holiday. The late Erma Johnson, the first woman and first African American to serve as chancellor of Tarrant County College, was a pioneer in education and in the long overdue effort to gain more positive attention and praise for the contributions of black members of the community toward improving Fort Worth.
There are, to be sure, men who are working to make Fort Worth more vibrant and attractive and economically healthy. This is not a criticism of their approach, and maybe it is better suited to the times. The old guard was out front and took control publicly. Today’s group is more subtle.
Still, the history of this city is one of strong women leaders. The late Anne Marion comes to mind. She was an enormous benefactor to many causes and institutions, often behind the scenes. She was iron-willed, and when embarked on a mission she simply could not be stopped. Her friend Kay Fortson is the force behind the incomparable legacy of the Kimbell Art Museum. Ruth Carter Stevenson made the Amon Carter Museum what it is today.
Behind many of the city’s most powerful men were strong women guiding our destiny.
Fortunately for Fort Worth, we have Ramona Bass and Sheila Johnson, and other women following in their footsteps, to continue and build on that leadership – that willingness to fight like lions for their vision and their beliefs.
Richard Connor is president and publisher of the Fort Worth Buiness Press. Contact him at rconnor@bizpress.net