Dates

• Existence: June 28, 1918 - March 21, 1985

Biography

Harold L. Holliday, Sr. (June 28, 1918-March 21, 1985) was an African American attorney, politician, and civil rights leader working in Kansas City, Missouri. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Lincoln University in 1939 and a master’s in economics from the University of Michigan in 1941. One year later he was drafted into the United States Army, serving as a second lieutenant, and being honorably discharged in 1945. Upon his return, he applied to the University of Kansas City’s Law School (now the University of Missouri-Kansas City). He was initially denied admission because of his race. With the help of the American Veteran’s Committee, he fought the decision and was admitted in 1948. Four years later in 1952 he became the first African American to graduate from the school.

Holliday went on to represent citizens in issues of civil rights during the 1950s. Notably, he defended parents of Booker T. Washington School who were protesting over-crowding, and served as general counsel for the Community Committee for Social Justice in their suit against a 1957 Public Accommodations ordinance that allowed for the segregation of restaurants and cafeterias in downtown Kansas City. Holliday was a founding member of Freedom, Inc., and served as a member of the Missouri House of Representatives from 1965-1976.

Holliday was an active member in several civil rights organizations, including the Kansas City Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the Kansas City Chapter of the Urban League. He died on March 21, 1985, due to lingering illness from prostate cancer.