On February 27, 1886, Fort Bend County’s trailblazing Benjamin Franklin Williams – a former slave-turned State Representative, the very first Black legislator in Texas history, one of 10 Black constitutional delegates during Reconstruction, and one of the forefathers of Kendleton – passed away. On this same day 136 years later, Fort Bend County’s Commissioner Dexter L. McCoy took to the stage, steps away from Williams’s resting place, and announced a landmark $4 million investment into the very same community Williams helped establish.
Kendleton, one of the very first freedmen’s communities established after Emancipation, is home to a breadth of important, yet underrecognized Texas history. Williams aside, the town’s descendants also include Barbara Jordan, the legendary Houston Congresswoman whose father preached to the community, as well as Walter Moses Burton, the first African-American Sheriff in Fort Bend County history. “This memorial will commemorate the Black experience, not only in Fort Bend County, but in Texas, and really be reflective of the stories from Kendleton all the way to Congress and beyond.”
Commissioner McCoy was joined by a bipartisan medley of local officials, reflecting the apolitical, unifying nature of this solemn project. He was joined on-stage by Former Congressman Pete Olson, Architect Gregory Hines, and Kendleton Mayor Darryl K. Humphrey, Sr. Other elected officials in attendance included Sheriff Eric Fagan, Treasurer Bill Rickert, District Attorney Brian Middleton, County Attorney Bridgette Smith-Lawson, and Constable Mike Beard, among others. Also present were representatives of Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher, County Judge K.P. George, and Commissioners Andy Meyers and Grady Prestage.
Olson was outspoken and passionate about the importance of the investment and the legacy that it speaks to. The former Republican Congressman opined: “This is a great day – a celebration of the heart and soul of Fort Bend County.” Olson recently found Williams’s tombstone buried face-down in the mud while conducting a research project, and has since led a months-long community service effort to restore the dilapidated burial sites. “I was surprised, angry, disgusted, and hurt by what happened to his grave, and every grave in this park,” he remarked.
Olson pointed out that of the three service events he’s organized at the site, only one person has shown up every time: Commissioner McCoy. “The first time he came out was Juneteenth … and [he] said, ‘If I’m elected to be Commissioner, I will fix this within my first 100 days in office.’ Well, Dexter lied. He did that in less than 60 days.”Commissioner McCoy was joined by a variety of local community organizations, including FBC Heritage Unlimited, Black Cowboy Museum, S.O.J.E.S, NAACP Missouri City & Vinicity Branch, Fort Bend Green, Fort Bend Master Naturalist, and Daughters of the American Revolution Alexander Hodge Chapter. Also present were direct descendants and family members of those buried here.
Commissioner McCoy announced that in the coming months, his office will host community engagement sessions to help imagine the programmatic aspects of the memorial, including subsequent additions and next steps. “This is going to be a multi-phase project which will require a great deal of community support.” McCoy hopes that “…by this time next year, we will be well on our way in breaking ground on this most historic and monumental location.”
Interested parties can view the event stream here, and McCoy’s Twitter thread on the history and enduring legacy of Benjamin Franklin Williams here.
