Campus News

Documentary about Hollowell, civil rights pioneer, to premiere April 15

Documentary about Hollowell, civil rights pioneer, to premiere April 15

UGA will premiere a documentary about the late civil rights pioneer Donald Hollowell at 6 p.m. April 15 in the Woodruff Arts Center in Atlanta.

Donald L. Hollowell: Foot Soldier for Equal Justice is a production of the Foot Soldier Project for Civil Rights Studies, an interdisciplinary documentary and research program dedicated to chronicling Georgia’s history in the civil rights movement.

The documentary chronicles the life of Hollowell, one of the movement’s legendary advocates for the cause of social justice. Highlights include his service as lead counsel in the case that led to the desegregation of UGA and his legal victory that won the release of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. from the Reidsville State Prison.

The premiere will be followed by a panel discussion. Judge Glenda Hatchett, star of the television courtroom series Judge Hatchett, will moderate the discussion. Panelists include Vernon E. Jordan Jr., chair of the Hollowell Professorship endowment committee; the Rev. Joseph E. Lowery, co-founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference; Mary Frances Early, the first African-American UGA graduate; and Federal Judge Horace T. Ward.

Tickets for the premiere are $100. Proceeds will support the Donald L. Hollowell Professorship of Social Justice and Civil Rights Studies in the School of Social Work.

“Hollowell’s dedication and sacrifice for the ideals of equal opportunity and social justice changed the course of our nation’s history and will continue to open doors of opportunity for generations to come,” said Maurice Daniels, dean of the social work school.

Hollowell died of heart failure Dec. 27, 2004, at the age of 87.

However, his legacy lives on among the scores of those he influenced and uplifted, said Daniels.