[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 14]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 20330]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    TRIBUTE TO HONOR JAMES BELT, JR.

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 16, 2015

  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, it is with great 
sadness that I recognize the life and passing of James Belt, Jr. Mr. 
Belt, Jr. was a very prominent and well-respected leader in the 
community. As a activist, he also served our community by offering his 
words of wisdom and years of knowledge and experience.
  For close to 40 years, he has served the community as a civil and 
criminal lawyer. He received his Bachelor of Business Administration 
Degree from Pan American University, Edinburg, in 1968. And went on to 
earn a Juris Doctorate from Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas 
Southern University in Houston in 1977. He opened his private practice 
in the heart of South Dallas, where he served those who needed him 
most. Mr. Belt, Jr. was also a Dallas Examiner co-publisher, sat on the 
board of the National Newspaper Publisher Association, the official 
Black Press of America and the NNPA Foundation Board.
  During the early 2000s, he co-hosted Dallas Examiner Live on KNON 
Radio. He previously sat on the Texas Southern University Board of 
Regents in Houston, Dallas Area Rapid Transit Board and the Texas Rural 
Foundation Board.
  He was the founder of the Dallas Black Criminal Bar Association--an 
organization of Black lawyers in the private practice of law in Dallas 
County. He was a member of the National Bar Association, Texas Bar 
Association, J.L. Turner Legal Association and the Inns of Court. He 
was also a lifetime member of the NAACP.
  Mr. Speaker, it is in earnest respect that I recognize the memory of 
James Belt, Jr. before this body of Congress and this nation for the 
irreplaceable contributions he made to the community of Dallas and the 
State of Texas. My sincere condolences go out to his wife of 45 years, 
Mollie F. Belt; his children, James C. Belt III, Melanie Belt, MD and 
Carlos Cavazos; 10 grandchildren, Brittany Cavazos, Jerry Cavazos, C.J. 
Cavazos, Joshua Cavazos, Michael Cavazos, Lejond Cavazos, Chloe 
Cavazos, Bryce Belt, Dylan Belt and Melania McDaniel; two daughter-in-
laws, Melba Cavazos and Cherrese Belt; and one son-in-law, Demetrius 
McDaniel, Esq. While his loss will be deeply felt, the memory of his 
kindness and the recollection of his good deeds will transcend into 
future generations.

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