Gratts Family Reunion

Ella Mae Gratts was born May 19, 1906, She was born 12 of 14 children to Lawson D. Gratz and Rose Ann

Gratz (Gratts).  Aunt Ella Mae remembered as a child grandfather reading to her and other children after a hard day's work on their farm. She recalled that she would sit down in front of the fireplace and reading by the light of an old oil lamp, of course in those days not every home especially living on a farm was electric power available to all people. 

 

In 1928 at the age of 19, Aunt Ella Mae went to work for the Fort Worth Library System at the Central Library, and at that time African Americans were not allowed to enter the library or check out books for it was forbidden because of racist Jim Crow Laws of the land at the time. They say it is the times that make the man, but in this instance, it was the times that made the woman. Realizing that if our people would be educated outside of the school system in Fort Worth which was certainly not separate but equal, there need to be an intervention that would allow African Americans to further their knowledge and education by being able to have books available to read. Aunt Ella Mae started taking boxes of books to Southside Fort Worth and other parts of the city and leaving books at a black-owned business that the children frequented like Stevens Grocery Store, The Federated Women's Club, and a nursery school. Her enthusiasm in creating an atmosphere of education and knowledge resulted in her pioneering the library's "Book Mobile System" which was the forerunner of the city's branch libraries. Aunt Ella Mae worked for the Fort Worth Library System for 40 Years and through her dedication to serving became a pillar of the community of Fort Worth. In 1982 a sub-library in Aunt Ella's name was located in the South Side Multi-cultural Center on Rosedale Avenue. 

 

On June 13th, 2008 members and relatives of the Gratts family, elected officials, clergy, historians, stakeholders, local residents, and visitors gathered to celebrate the grand opening of the library named in her honor. Mrs. Gratts Shamblee, the cities first African American librarian, interceded and acted as an agent of change proving books to those who otherwise were not allowed to visit city libraries Aunt 
Ella Mae rode streetcars, carried boxes of books to assure that the African American children of Fort Worth had access to reading. 

    

 

The Ella Mae Gratts Shamblee library will serve as an epitome of advancements made in providing access to information to all the residents in the city of Fort Worth and particularly the Evans/Rosedale streets and the Terrell Heights neighborhoods. Incorporated into the Tommy Tucker building, the Gratts Shamblee Library is the cornerstone of the Evans and Rosedale Business and Renaissance and Cultural Center.