M. Carl Holman (June 27, 1919 – August 9, 1988) was an American author, poet, playwright, and civil rights advocate who was born in

Minter City, Mississippi Minter City is an unincorporated community in Leflore County and Tallahatchie County, Mississippi, United States. It is part of the Greenwood, Mississippi micropolitan area, and is within the Mississippi Delta. Mississippi Highway 8 intersec ...

and died in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

One of his noted works is ''The Baptizin''‘ (1971). In 1968, ''

Ebony Ebony is a dense black/brown hardwood, coming from several species in the genus '' Diospyros'', which also includes the persimmon tree. A few ''Diospyros'' species, such as macassar and mun ebony, are dense enough to sink in water. Ebony is fin ...

'' listed him as one of the 100 most influential Black Americans. Holman grew up in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

. He graduated

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

from Lincoln University in 1942 and earned a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

from the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

in 1944. He then earned another master's degree from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

in 1954, which he attended on a creative writing scholarship. He taught English at Clark College for 14 years and also taught at

Hampton University Hampton University is a private, historically black, research university in Hampton, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1868 as Hampton Agricultural and Industrial School, it was established by Black and White leaders of the American Missiona ...

and Lincoln University. At one time, he edited the '' Atlanta Inquirer'', a weekly black journal at Clark College that reported on

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...

issues in the

South South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

. In 1962, he moved to Washington, D.C. to work as an information officer at the

Civil Rights Commission The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (CCR) is a bipartisan, independent commission of the United States federal government, created by the Civil Rights Act of 1957 during the Dwight D. Eisenhower, Eisenhower administration, that is charged with ...

. Holman became special assistant to the staff director in 1965 and then deputy director in 1966. He served on the Washington, D.C. Board of Higher Education, which governed the school then known as

Federal City College The University of the District of Columbia (UDC) is a public historically black land-grant university in Washington, D.C., United States. The only public university in the city, it traces its origins to 1851 and opened in its current form in 1 ...

. He also served as a housing consultant to the mayor of Washington, D.C. From 1971 to 1988, he served as president of the National Urban Coalition, an organization formed after the riots of 1967, where he advocated for programs in housing, education, employment, and economic development. At the time, the organization maintained chapters in 48 cities.

Personal

He was married to Mariella Ukina Ama Holman after they met at college. They had three children, a daughter, Kinshasha Holman Conwill, and two sons, Kwame Holman and Kwasi Holman.
Library of Congress Remembering Our Father: The Story of M. Carl Holman
', control number 2021688186, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., 2009-02-10, https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gdc/gdcwebcasts.090210lib1200

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holman, M. Carl 1919 births 1988 deaths Burials at Rock Creek Cemetery 20th-century American poets 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights 20th-century African-American writers African-American poets People from Minter City, Mississippi Writers from Mississippi Writers from St. Louis Poets from Washington, D.C. Lincoln University (Missouri) alumni University of Chicago alumni David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University alumni Clark Atlanta University faculty Hampton University faculty Lincoln University (Missouri) faculty