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On February 9, 2021, the Harris County Commissioners Court approved a resolution to rededicate the Harris County Robert W. Hainsworth Law Library in honor of a local civil rights leader, Robert W. Hainsworth. Mr. Hainsworth fought for equal access to government buildings, including the Law Library, and equal treatment at the ballot box throughout his 30-year legal career. Please join us for a virtual Rededication Ceremony on Thursday, December 16, at 2 p.m. You can register by clicking the blue box above.
Background
When Robert W. Hainsworth returned to Houston following graduation from Howard University School of Law in 1949, he faced a segregated courthouse. Like many young lawyers, he visited the Harris County Law Library to conduct legal research, but he encountered hurdles that white attorneys and litigants did not; he was required to sit at a specific table designated by a sign that read “Colored.”
Mr. Hainsworth took a stand. He challenged the practice as unconstitutional and sued for open and equal access for all (Hainsworth v. Harris County Commissioners Court). When his appeals were denied in Texas courts, he appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1954, making national news at the time. However, just months after declaring “separate but equal” to be “inherently unequal,” the nation’s highest Court rejected his appeal.
Rededication
Mr. Hainsworth envisioned the Law Library as a place where everyone could have equal access. His efforts are deserving of recognition, and rededicating the Law Library in his honor serves as inspiration to all who are represented symbolically in his story. As a self-represented litigant, Mr. Hainsworth used his power to petition his government to better his life and the lives of those around him, much like the thousands of self-represented litigants who use Law Library resources each year. As a solo attorney, he used his skill and Law Library resources in support of individuals in his community, much like thousands of solo and small firm attorneys throughout Harris County. While Mr. Hainsworth’s vision of the Law Library as a place where everyone should have a seat at any table was not immediately realized, open and equal access to legal information is the Law Library’s mission today.
Learn more about Mr. Hainsworth’s life here: https://www.harriscountylawlibrary.org/robert-w-hainsworth.