Robert W. Hainsworth
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 who fought for equal access to government buildings, including the Law Library, and equal treatment at the ballot box throughout his 30-year legal career.
Early Life
Robert Wendell Hainsworth was born in Navasota, Texas, on May 4, 1909. He moved to Houston with his family where he attended public schools and graduated from Washington High School. Upon graduation, he enrolled at Howard University and studied liberal arts. He excelled in his studies and published a scholarly article about Black candidates’ experiences in Texas primary elections in The Journal of African American History. As an undergraduate, he was a member of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity and a 2nd Lieutenant in the University R.O.T.C. Officer's Club. After earning a bachelor’s degree, Mr. Hainsworth entered the U.S. Army. He served his country in World War II and retired at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel before continuing his studies at Howard University School of Law. As part of the Bison Class of 1949, he once again excelled in his studies and served as Chair of the Law School’s Programming Committee, which scheduled speakers for class meetings. Significantly, one of the speakers during Mr. Hainsworth’s tenure as committee chair was George E. C. Hayes, the attorney who represented African-American students and parents in the school integration case Bolling v. Sharpe, which was decided by the U.S. Supreme Court the same day as Brown v. Board of Education.
Hainsworth v. Harris County Commissioners Court
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.
Houston Lawyers Association
Undaunted, Mr. Hainsworth continued to press for equality and to fight against racial injustice. In 1955, he joined fellow attorneys to establish the Houston Lawyers Association (HLA), which “was founded at a time when African-American attorneys could not join the Houston Bar Association.” Mr. Hainsworth worked with other HLA co-founders, including the Honorable Henry Doyle, the Honorable Matthew Plummer, the Honorable Weldon Berry, Aloysius Wickliff, Sr., Francis Williams, Heulean Lott, and Robeson King, to challenge many forms of segregation that were prevalent in Houston at that time. In addition to the “one-table rule” in the Law Library and exclusion from the Houston Bar Association, Black attorneys were subject to a rule that all “black cases” were handled at the end of district court dockets and service at the courthouse cafeteria was limited to white patrons. The pioneering founders of the HLA challenged those segregation practices in the courthouse and beyond. In 2005, the State of Texas commemorated their victories for equality and the 50th anniversary of the HLA with House Concurrent Resolution 206.
Elections Cases
During his legal career, Mr. Hainsworth pursued two cases concerning the fairness of elections in Texas to the U.S. Supreme Court. In Hainsworth v. Martin (read via Google Scholar), he challenged the practice of electing state legislators for at-large districts even in the most populous counties. In Hainsworth v. White (read via Google Scholar), he challenged the process that applied to independent candidates in Texas. Thanks to the Oyez Project, you can listen to Mr. Hainsworth’s oral argument before the U.S. Supreme Court in Hainsworth v. White, which was recorded in 1973.
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. On February 9, 2021, Harris County Commissioners Court acknowledged the victory of Mr. Hainsworth’s vision by adopting a resolution to honor his work and share his story with everyone who now has equal access to legal information because of him.
Sources:
Hainsworth Obituary, Houston Post (May 8, 1981).
Howard University College of Liberal Arts Yearbook (1930).
Howard University College of Law Bison Class of 1949 Yearbook.
Texas House Concurrent Resolution 206 (2005).
Hainsworth v. Harris County Commissioners Court, 265 S.W.2d 217 (Tex. App. Ct.-Galveston, 1954)
We would like to extend special thanks to the archivists and librarians at the following institutions who helped our law librarians bring Mr. Hainsworth’s story to light:
Houston Public Library African-American Library at The Gregory School
Harris County Archives
Harris County District Clerk’s Office, Historical Records Division
Howard University School of Law Library
Bangor (Maine) Public Library
Robert W. Hainsworth Digital Exhibit:
Undaunted Advocate
A collection of photographs and documents that showcase Robert W. Hainsworth’s personal life, education, military services, and his tireless efforts as an undaunted advocate for justice.
Collection materials are provided by Harris County Archives, Harris County Clerk’s Office,
Harris County District Clerk’s Office, African American Library at The Gregory School of Houston Public Library, and Vernon E. Jordan, Jr. Law Library of Howard University School of Law.