Hamilton Earl “Hamp” Holmes

Hamilton Earl “Hamp” Holmes was born July 8, 1941, in Atlanta.  Hamilton Holmes is best known for desegregating the University of Georgia (UGA) in Athens. One of the first two African American students admitted to UGA in 1961, Holmes was also the first Black student admitted to the Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta two years later.

In September, 1959, Hamp enrolled at Morehouse College where he immediately became a protege of Dr. Benjamin Mays. Hamp loved his time spent at Morehouse. He further honed his academic skills, gained many friends, played on the football team where he distinguished himself as both a student and a football player.

Despite his love of Morehouse, another fate awaited him. A group of African American leaders, led by Jesse Hill, Jr. and Donald Hollowell, was determined to challenge the prevailing injustice of our era. They sought clean cut students with stellar academic qualifications to integrate the University of Georgia. Hamp and Charlayne Hunter accepted the sacrifices and answered the call.

The rest is history. Despite many hardships, Hamp excelled in his studies and obliterated the notion that an African American student could not excel at a white institution. He graduated cum laude in 1963 with a B.S. degree in Zoology and a Phi Beta Kappa Key. He then became the first African American student at the Emory University Medical School. Again, he excelled and graduated in 1967.

SIAC HALL OF FAME - 1995