Chancellor Erma Johnson Hadley has been named a Local Freedom’s Sister in conjunction with a national historic traveling exhibit sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution. Hadley, along with 20 other honorees including three from Fort Worth, was honored at special opening reception for the exhibit on display at the Women’s Museum in Dallas through July 4.
Hadley was recognized as a “woman of firsts.” Accomplishments highlighted in her selection include being the first African-American woman chair of both the Tarrant County Hospital District Board of Managers and the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, and the first African-American and the first woman to serve as Chancellor of Tarrant County College. She was also cited for her work with Visions Unlimited, a TCC program in collaboration with homeless shelters and agency service providers for the homeless.
Other Fort Worth honorees are former Tarrant County Commissioner Dionne Phillips Bagsby, U.S. Attorney Mattie Peterson Compton and Fort Worth Public Library Director Gleniece Robinson.
Freedom’s Sisters is a collaborative effort between the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service and the Cincinnati Museum Center. On a three-year tour to eight selected cities, it highlights the lives of 20 African-American women “whose work for liberty and equality continues to push aside limitations that constrict Americans.” With the recent death of Dorothy Irene Height, only Kathleen Cleaver, Myrlie Evers-Williams, Charlayne Hunter-Gault and Sonia Sanchez are the remaining living honorees.
Join us in saluting Chancellor Hadley for such a noteworthy accomplishment!