ESTEEM THE DREAM OF DR. KING: Honoring the New Trinity Cemetery Legacy of Vada Phillips Felder — The Woman Who Invited Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to Fort Worth in 1959.

ESTEEM THE DREAM OF DR. KING: Honoring the New Trinity Cemetery Legacy of Vada Phillips Felder — The Woman Who Invited Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to Fort Worth in 1959.

Vada Phillips Felder

When history remembers the giants of the Civil Rights Movement, it often remembers the preachers, the marches, and the mass meetings.

But sometimes history turns on the quiet courage of a Christian educator.

When one asks, “Who invited Dr. King to Fort Worth?” the answer is not found in the pulpit of a prominent Black church or in the office of a well-known pastor.

The answer rests in the legacy of a humble scholar, strategist, and spiritual architect: Vada Phillips Felder.

The Woman Behind the Visit

On October 22, 1959, Martin Luther King Jr. made his only visit to Fort Worth, Texas. It was a rare Texas appearance during the height of the Civil Rights Movement, and it happened because Vada Felder extended the invitation after meeting King at a church conference in Nashville.

King arrived to both celebration and hostility. He endured bomb threats and racial tension, yet spoke that evening before 400 people at the historic Majestic Theater on Commerce Street in Downtown Fort Worth, Texas. 

That night, something extraordinary happened.

For the first time, African Americans were permitted to enter through the front doors and sit in the lower level of the theater. A barrier shifted. A door opened.

And it opened because a Christian educator dared to ask.

King stayed in Felder’s home on Stewart Street. She did not merely invite him — she hosted him, protected him, and helped steward a historic moment for Fort Worth.

Years later, she reflected:

“He gave us courage. He taught us that we could stand up and do what was right — and do it in peace.”

A Trailblazer Before the Moment

Vada Phillips Felder was already a pioneer long before 1959.

• First Black student to earn a Master of Religious Education from Brite College of the Bible at Texas Christian University (1954).
• First Black woman sworn in as a juror in the Northern District of the U.S. Federal Court.
• First Black person to serve on the Tarrant County grand jury.
• Director of Publications for the National Baptist Training Union Board of the National Baptist Convention.
• Author of a 250-page Baptist Training Union handbook and numerous Christian education materials.
• Founder of the United Christian Leadership School.

She graduated summa cum laude from Wiley College in just three years, completed graduate work at the University of Chicago, and then broke barriers at TCU.

She served Mount Zion Baptist Church for over fifty years and held leadership roles in:

• Urban League
• NAACP
• Camp Fire Girls
• Zeta Phi Beta
• Eastern Star
• Heroines of Jericho
• American Woodsmen
• Tarrant County Association of Social Relations

In 1955 she was named “Woman of the Year” by the Florence B. Brooks Club.

When she passed in 2008 at age 97, she left a legacy of scholarship, strategy, and spiritual courage.

Rediscovered at New Trinity

New Trinity Cemetery

While “digging for dignity” at New Trinity Cemetery — a sacred ground where over 500 Black veterans rest — Pastor Kyev Tatum discovered Mrs. Felder’s gravesite near the front gate.

Among soldiers.

Among pioneers.

Among the quiet architects of Black Fort Worth.

The woman who opened the door for Dr. King rests at the gateway of a cemetery that now anchors one of the most significant African American heritage preservation efforts in Tarrant County.

Esteem the Dream — 2026 Semiquincentennial

As America approaches her 250th birthday in 2026, the Friends of New Trinity Cemetery will dedicate a commemorative plaque honoring Vada Phillips Felder’s courage, scholarship, and service.

This is not simply remembrance.

It is restoration.

To esteem the dream is to honor the dreamers — especially the ones history almost forgot.

About Pastor Kyev P. Tatum, Sr.

Pastor Kyev P. Tatum, Sr. is the senior pastor of New Mount Rose Missionary Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas, and the publisher of Black Texans, Inc. A graduate of the University of North Texas School of Community Service, he is a community historian, faith leader, and civic strategist whose work bridges theology, education, public health, and historical preservation.

He has led multiple initiatives preserving African American heritage in Tarrant County, including the historic recognition efforts at New Trinity Cemetery. His leadership blends civil rights consciousness, economic empowerment, literacy advocacy, and faith-driven community development.

Through projects such as the Honor Project at New Trinity, Skills City USA, Inner City Coffee Exchange and ongoing Semiquincentennial commemorations, Pastor Tatum works to ensure that the stories of Black veterans, educators, and freedom builders are preserved, proclaimed, and protected for future generations.

Esteem the Dream.

Because sometimes the woman who invited the dreamer

is just as important as the dream itself.