Holt, Hamilton

Item

Connection to Legacies of American Slavery Database
Advocate of the Civil Rights Movement
Name
Holt, Hamilton
One-line bio
Hamilton Holt was the 8th president of Rollins College, founding member of the NAACP, social activist, and journalist.
Biography
Journalist, social activist, politician, pacifist, and college president, Hamilton Holt (1872-1951) shaped the image and mission of Rollins College during his twenty-four years of service as college president (1925-1949). A respected proponent of international peace, Hamilton Holt also served as a founding member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

A progressive, Hamilton Holt had a tenuous relationship regarding race relations during his extended time in the segregated South. Despite his personal efforts for racial justice, Holt restricted these actions as president of Rollins. For example, during his tenure as president, Holt welcomed Zora Neal Hurston on-campus, despite her production having an all-White audience. In 1947, he cancelled a football game with Ohio Wesleyan University because they planned to bring a Black player, a decision that met with criticism at the time. Two years later, in 1947, Holt awarded Mary McLeod Bethune a Doctor of Humanities Degree, making her the first Black woman to receive such a degree in the nation. This was against the explicit wishes of the college's Board of Trustees.
Date of Birth
August 19, 1872
Date of Death
April 26, 1951
Historical Period
1890-1945: Era of the Lost Cause, Jim Crow legal segregation and discrimination, and organized anti-Black racism
Related Organization(s)
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
Rollins College
Related Person(s)
Bethune, Mary McLeod
Bethune, Mary McLeod
Employed By
Rollins College
Wikidata Link
Hamilton Holt
Learn More About this Subject
Hamilton Holt
Holt Collection
Holt's Scrapbooks
Holt and Race
Rollins Football

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