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Hamilton Holmes Jr. to give Freedom Breakfast keynote


Hamilton Holmes, Jr.

Virtual event will recognize student and community trailblazers

Hamilton Holmes Jr., son of Hamilton Holmes Sr. and a business development director for Pieper O’Brien Herr Architects in Alpharetta, will present the keynote address for the 18th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Breakfast.

Hosted by the University of Georgia in collaboration with Athens-Clarke County and the Clarke County School District, the event, with the theme “The Power of the Dream: Forging a Path Forward,” will be celebrated virtually through a video premiere on Jan. 15 at 9 a.m. on the University of Georgia’s Facebook page. The event is free and open to the public.

Holmes’ career includes work in sales, business development and community relations. In his current role, he connects the firm with clients and commercial project opportunities across the country. Holmes is also president and CEO of the Alfred Tup Holmes Legacy Foundation and a board member of the STARBASE Foundation.

Holmes’ father was one of the first Black students to desegregate the University of Georgia in 1961, along with Charlayne Hunter-Gault, paving the way for Holmes Jr. to earn his bachelor’s degree in marketing from the university in 1990.

The Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Breakfast honors the legacy of the late civil rights leader and recognizes individuals dedicated to making a significant contribution to race relations, justice and human rights with the President’s Fulfilling the Dream Award.

The 2021 Dream Award recipients are Tony Lowe, associate professor of social work in the School of Social Work; Charlie Maddox, retired district tax director for North East Georgia; Narke Norton, assistant director of recruitment in the Office of Recruitment and Diversity Initiatives; Jalen Polk, a fourth-year economics major in the Terry College of Business; and Ashley Love, a graduate student in the Mary Frances Early College of Education.