Athens, Ga. – The University of Georgia will premiere a documentary about civil rights pioneer Donald Hollowell April 15 at 6 p.m. at 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 civil rights movement’s legendary advocates for the cause of social justice.
The premiere will be followed by a panel discussion. Judge Glenda Hatchett, star of the television courtroom series, Judge Hatchett will moderate the discussion and 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 student to graduate from UGA; 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 UGA School of Social Work.
Born and raised in Wichita, Kan., Hollowell did not encounter the Jim Crow restrictions of the South. But he did face racial discrimination while serving in the U.S. Army during World War II. Hollowell’s experiences with segregation and his involvement with the Southern Negro Youth Congress after the war inspired him to study law, which ultimately became his weapon of choice in the fight for social justice in the South and across the nation, according to Maurice Daniels, dean of the School of Social Work and director of the Foot Soldier Project for Civil Rights Studies.
“His 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 Daniels.
Hollowell died of heart failure on Dec. 27, 2004, at the age of 87.
However, his legacy lives on among the scores of those he influenced and uplifted, said Daniels.
The documentary trailer is available online at http://video.yahoo.com/watch/6758870/17564462.
Directions to the Woodruff Arts Center are available online at http://www.woodruffcenter.org/Visit/Parking-and-Directions.aspx.
