Tribute to Donald Hollowell

A Tribute to Donald L. Hollowell Donald L. Hollowell was the first, legendary, Black lawyer that I heard of as a child in Coweta County, Georgia. According to the street committee, he represented a neighbor of mine who was accused of employing self-defense in the 1950’s against two, belligerent white men who were his employers. The men received knife wounds. Subsequently, a noose would usually supplant due process. Initially, my neighbor had retained a white lawyer in Newnan. He answered all of the lawyer’s questions. Race was of no concern to the lawyer. Obviously, the assailants were Black since the neighbor was still alive. This had to be a Black-on-Black crime. The lawyer went to the circuit judge to work out a deal. Many times, a Black person would receive a pat on the back for injuring or killing another black person. At that point, the judge asked the white lawyer, “don’t you know who that n----r cut? Today, the race of the victim is still important. The white lawyer summoned my neighbor to his office. He was fuming. “Why didn’t you tell me you cut a white man? With that, the lawyer directed the neighbor out of his office. What happened to the presumption of innocence? I am certain there were some expletives in the command. This represented a double standard of justice. The neighbor went to Atlanta and retained Donald Hollowell who was the premier trial lawyer in Atlanta. C.B. King enjoyed the same reputation in south Georgia and especially in Albany. White judges needed a dictionary to comprehend his oral arguments. These judges would say, “C.B. slow down. Spell that word.” Hollowell came to Newnan and when the dust had settled, the neighbor had been acquitted of all charges except one. A trial of this notoriety always attracted a large audience especially since television was in its infancy. Of course, the courtroom was segregated. Blacks had to sit in the balcony. Hollowell noted that this single conviction would probably be reversed on appeal. The neighbor was too satisfied with the result as is. His neck did not have to be measured. He would gladly serve his relatively brief sentence in the county jail. Among other injustices that I had either witnessed or received reports of, this story also inspired me to become a lawyer. As it is today, Black defendants are ipso facto unpopular defendants in the legal system; effective assistance of counsel is typically honored in the breach and especially when the purported victim is white and the accused is Black. The effective and continued representation of unpopular defendants and causes led to my legal problems in New York and ultimately in the federal system coupled with Georgia and Pennsylvania. This is a Catch-22 situation for any attorney concerned about justice for his or her race. Black people are not entitled to zealous representation in the courts or in legislative chambers when the legal or political matters are of special concerns to whites. My permanent suspension is a reminder to all Black politicians and lawyers of what may happen to them if they cross whites and stand up for Blacks. For us, it is still “taxation without representation.” Although Donald Hollowell had an illustrious career as a civil rights attorney, he was denied the privilege of becoming the first, Black federal judge in Georgia simply and solely because of his successful representation of Charlyne Hunter and the late Hamilton Holmes, Jr. who both desegregated the University of Georgia in 1961. Hollowell also won desegregation cases in Augusta, Macon and at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta. He also represented Dr. Martin L. King Jr. In Georgia, he was a legal trail blazer. Most of these achievements occurred before the presence of Black elected officials. This activism, of representing unpopular causes and defendants, which Blacks heralded also prevented him from becoming a federal judge, a lifetime appointment. Whites wanted someone who had not upset the applecart and changed the status quo. Hollowell was, seemingly, too loyal to Blacks. Whites feared he would continue a civil rights agenda. Black leaders succumbed to the anti-Black sentiments of whites. They refused to stand solidly behind him for having consistently defended the Black community. If Black elected officials are unable to place Blacks who are loyal to the Black community in pivotal positions, what is the purpose of voting? Hollowell stood up for his community. His community laid down on him. This story continues to repeat itself. As Dr. King stated, “If you don’t stand for something, you will fall for anything.” To live by this rule, a Black person must be ethical and courageous. So far, our community prefers to live on its knees rather than to die on its feet. Blacks in Atlanta betrayed Hollowell. Should Hollowell have betrayed them? He could not. He preferred to stay above the morality standards of his community. Obviously, he had been born prematurely as it relates to ethics. President Lyndon Johnson appointed him to head the Southeast region of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 1966. This was a far cry from a federal judgeship and an insult to his legal skills. All other avenues were shut down to him. He was standing virtually alone. Associate Justice Clarence Thomas once headed EEOC. Thomas could not carry Hollowell’s bags. Yet, Thomas was placed in charge of all of EEOC. Afterward, he was placed on the U.S. Supreme Court. Hollowell was unable to secure a nomination to a federal district court. The irony of living Black in America is the rewards that Negro sell-outs enjoy with Black acquiescence and fear. Given the current, mental plight of Blacks, federal judgeships should not be a matter of any concern. We would allow for the nomination of more sell-outs to the federal judiciary. Hollowell died in Atlanta on December 27, 2004 at the age of 87. After his retirement from EEOC in 1985, Georgia Superior Court Judge Marvin Arrington made him a partner in his law firm and renamed the law firm, Hollowell and Arrington. At the time, Arrington was president of the Atlanta City Council. 1/04/05