Donald Lee Hollowell was a civil rightsattorney 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. The first black regional director of a federal agency, 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.
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. 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 and Hamilton E. Holmes. In 1960, Hollowell and co-counsel Horace Ward won a victory in the Georgia Court of Appeals which secured the release of Rev. Dr. 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. In 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed Hollowell as regional director of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, a government agency that monitors workplace discrimination. This appointment made Hollowell the first black regional director of a major federal agency. Hollowell remained with the EEOC for nearly 20 years. Hollowell also served as president of the Voter Education Project, 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 graduate of Morris Brown College and a distinguished Professor of English 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 natural children, but were the godparents to Dr. Albert J. H. Sloan, II, past President of Miles College outside of Birmingham, Alabama.
