HOUSTON – Fort Bend County Judge KP George held a dedication and renaming ceremony for the county’s law library, honoring Civil Rights pioneer Willie Melton.
Since 2018, the Law Library has been housed on the second floor of the Fort Bend County Justice Center, but on Tuesday, it will be renamed the Willie Melton Law Library.
The 3,000 square foot library is equipped with research computers, study tables and conference rooms.
In the early 1950s, Willie Melton, a successful farmer, entrepreneur and activist in Kendleton, TX, along with other Black residents, legally challenged the county’s all-white primaries that disenfranchised Black voters and prevented Black candidates from being on the ballot. The case went to the U.S. Supreme Court and ended the system of whites-only primaries in Fort Bend.
Judge George was joined at the naming ceremony by members of Milton’s family and other county officials.