Donald Lee Hollowell (December 19, 1917 – December 27, 2004) was an American civil rights

attorney Attorney may refer to: * Lawyer ** Attorney at law, in some jurisdictions * Attorney, one who has power of attorney * ''The Attorney'', a 2013 South Korean film See also * Attorney general, the principal legal officer of (or advisor to) a gove ...

during the Civil Rights Movement, in the state of Georgia. He successfully sued to integrate Atlanta's public schools, Georgia colleges, universities and public transit, freed Martin Luther King Jr. from prison, and mentored civil rights attorneys (including Vernon Jordan and Horace Ward). The first black regional director of a federal agency (the

EEOC The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is a federal agency that was established via the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to administer and enforce civil rights laws against workplace discrimination. The EEOC investigates discrimination ...

), Hollowell is best remembered for his instrumental role in winning the desegregation of the University of Georgia in 1961. He is the subject of a 2010 documentary film, ''Donald L. Hollowell: Foot Soldier for Equal Justice.''obituary: "Donald L. Hollowell, 87, Lawyer Who Fought for Civil Rights"
'' The New York Times'', January 2, 2005; retrieved May 23, 2017.Suggs, Ernie
Donald L. Hollowell Obituary: "Civil rights pioneer made friends, history"
December 29, 2004, ''

Atlanta Journal-Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the only major daily newspaper in the metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger between ...

,'' Atlanta, Georgia, as transcribed at Legacy.com, retrieved May 23, 2017.Associated Press (Atlanta, Ga.)
"Wichita civil rights lawyer recalled"
, January 2, 2005, ''Topeka Capital-Journal,'' retrieved May 23, 2017.
in ''Donald L. Hollowell Professorship,'' Office of Communications, Georgia School of Social Work at University of Georgia, retrieved May 23, 2017.Crosby, Emilye,

Tomiko Brown-Nagin Tomiko Brown-Nagin (born c. 1970) is an American law professor, historian, author, and university leader. She is dean of Harvard Radcliffe Institute, one of the world’s leading centers for interdisciplinary research across the humanities, scien ...

, Charlayne Hunter-Gault; Polly J. Price,

Kenneth W. Mack Kenneth W. Mack (born December 14, 1964) is a historian and the inaugural Lawrence D. Biele Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, where he has been a member of the faculty since 2000. He is the author oRepresenting the Race: The Creation of the ...

and Sarah H. Brown, as cited in (book)"Reviews:"
Saving the Soul of Georgia: Donald L. Hollowell and the Struggle for Civil Rights
'' by Maurice C. Daniels (foreword by Vernon E. Jordan Jr.), University of Georgia Press, retrieved May 23, 2017.

Biography

Early years

Donald Hollowell was born in Wichita, Kansas, and spent much of his childhood in Eureka, Kansas. He earned a high school diploma while serving six years in the

U.S. Army's The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

10th Cavalry Regiment The 10th Cavalry Regiment is a unit of the United States Army. Formed as a segregated African-American unit, the 10th Cavalry was one of the original "Buffalo Soldier" regiments in the post–Civil War Regular Army. It served in combat during t ...

(the original Buffalo Soldier regiment). Although in Kansas and therefore not subject to the racist Jim Crow laws of the South, he faced blatant racism and

discrimination Discrimination is the act of making unjustified distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong. People may be discriminated on the basis of race, gender, age, relig ...

while serving in the U.S. Army during World War II. Hollowell recounted that "army officials relegated him to eating in the kitchen, sleeping in quarters adjacent to prisoners, and patronizing Jim Crow canteens." Hollowell's experiences with racial segregation and discrimination and his involvement with the Southern Negro Youth Congress after the war inspired him to pursue the study of law to help in the fight for social justice.FSP Unsung Foot Soldiers.
/ref> In 1947, Hollowell graduated magna cum laude from Lane College in Jackson, Tennessee, and he earned his law degree from Loyola University Chicago School of Law in 1951.

Legal career

In 1952, Hollowell set up a law practice in Atlanta, Georgia, where he began to play a major role in the burgeoning civil rights struggle. Hollowell became well known for fighting racial segregation in the

State of Georgia Georgia is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee and North Carolina; to the northeast by South Carolina; to the southeast by the Atlantic Ocean; to the south by Florida; and to the west by ...

. Hollowell sued the University of Georgia, charging the institution with racist admission policies. The suit ended in 1961 with a federal court order demanding the admission of two African-American students,

Charlayne Hunter Charlayne Hunter-Gault (born February 27, 1942) is an American civil rights activist, journalist and former foreign correspondent for National Public Radio, CNN, and the Public Broadcasting Service. Charlayne Hunter and Hamilton Holmes were the ...

and

Hamilton E. Holmes Hamilton E. Holmes (8 July 1941 – 26 October 1995) was an American orthopedic physician. He and Charlayne Hunter-Gault were the first two African-American students admitted to the University of Georgia. Additionally, Holmes was the first Afri ...

. In 1960, Hollowell and co-counsel Horace Ward won a victory in the Georgia Court of Appeals which secured the release of Martin Luther King Jr. from the Georgia State Prison. In another case, Hollowell and members of his firm prevented the execution of a 15-year-old black youth from Monticello, Georgia five days before it was scheduled to take place. Hollowell and civil rights champion C. B. King also defended Dr. King and hundreds of civil rights activists in the historic civil rights campaign in Albany, Georgia known as the

Albany Movement The Albany Movement was a desegregation and voters' rights coalition formed in Albany, Georgia, in November 1961. This movement was founded by local black leaders and ministers, as well as members of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Commit ...

. In 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed Hollowell as regional director of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), a government agency that monitors workplace discrimination. This appointment made Hollowell the first black regional director of a major federal agency. He remained with the EEOC for nearly 20 years. He also served as president of the

Voter Education Project Voter Education Project (VEP) raised and distributed foundation funds to civil rights organizations for voter education and registration work in the southern United States from 1962 to 1992. The project was federally endorsed by the Kennedy adminis ...

, where he helped increase the number of African-American voters from 3 million to 5.5 million. In 2002, the University of Georgia awarded Hollowell its honorary Doctor of Laws degree.

Personal

Hollowell was a dedicated member of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity. In 1968, he received the Fraternity's highest honor, the Laurel Wreath Award, for his work in civil rights. Hollowell was married to Louise T. Hollowell, a

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some So ...

graduate of

Morris Brown College Morris Brown College (MBC) is a private Methodist historically black liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded January 5, 1881, Morris Brown is the first educational institution in Georgia to be owned and operated entirely by African Ame ...

and a distinguished Professor of English (Emeritus) at Morris Brown. In 1997, Louise Hollowell and Martin Lehfeldt authored a book titled ''The Sacred Call: A Tribute to Donald L. Hollowell—Civil Rights Champion'', which chronicles Hollowell's service and achievements. The book also tells the love story of Donald and Louise Hollowell, who celebrated their 61st wedding anniversary in 2004. Attorney and Mrs. Hollowell had no children, but were the godparents to Dr. Albert J. H. Sloan, II, past President of Miles College (HBCU) outside of Birmingham, Alabama.

Death and legacy

Hollowell died on December 27, 2004, eight days after his 87th birthday, of

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, a ...

. To honor him, the City of Atlanta renamed

Bankhead Highway The Bankhead Highway was a United States cross-country automobile highway connecting Washington, D.C., and San Diego. The Bankhead Highway's beginnings can be traced back to 1916 when the Bankhead Highway Association was organized to promote the h ...

(

U.S. 78 U.S. Route 78 (US 78) is an east–west United States highway that runs for 715 miles (1,151 km) from Memphis, Tennessee, to Charleston, South Carolina. From Byhalia, Mississippi to Birmingham, Alabama, US 78 is concurrent with Interstate 2 ...

) in his honor; Emory University named a professorship in his honor, as well. Hollowell is the subject of a 2010 documentary film, ''Donald L. Hollowell: Foot Soldier for Equal Justice,'' and a full-length biography published in 2013 by University of Georgia Press.Polly J. Price, "Review: ''Saving the Soul of Georgia: Donald L. Hollowell and the Struggle for Civil Rights,'' by Maurice C. Daniels," ''Journal of American History,'' vol. 101, no. 4 (March 2015), pp. 1326–1327.

Footnotes

External links

Donald L. Hollowell Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hollowell, Donald Lee 1917 births 2004 deaths People from Wichita, Kansas African Americans in World War II United States Army soldiers United States Army personnel of World War II Lane College alumni Loyola University Chicago School of Law alumni People from Atlanta Georgia (U.S. state) lawyers Activists for African-American civil rights 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century African-American people African-American United States Army personnel