ATLANTA—When Deacon Johnny Hollman, Sr., called the police on Aug. 10, 2023, about a fender bender accident, he had no way of knowing he would die in police custody just hours later. Two years later and his family is still fighting to hold the officer responsible accountable and bring community awareness to the issue.
On Sunday, Aug. 10, the Hollman family and the Pittsburgh neighborhood of Atlanta gathered at The Beloved Community Church for a worship service in order to keep the call for justice alive. Led by Rev. Dr. F. Keith Slaughter, families and neighbors came together in the church to sing, praise, and above all raise the Hollman family up as they continue to fight for their late father.
Almost a week earlier, the family’s case hit a road bump in Fulton County Court when, on Aug. 4, a Grand Jury refused to indict the officer who tased, tackled, and choked the 62-year-old grandfather before he was pronounced dead at Grady Hospital that night. In response, the Hollmans and their attorney, Mawuli Davis, released a statement condemning the decision, while still promising the “fight for justice will not waver.”
The church service was part of a Justice Weekend organized by the Hollmans to mark the two-year anniversary of Hollman, Sr.’s death. Just a day before, the family invited Atlantans out to a youth field day. Like the worship service, the family intended to create a space where people could come out and learn about the case and take part in the campaign.
Between segments of gospel and prayer, the congregation invited the daughters of Hollman, Sr. to address the church and spread their message. With the church band standing behind them, Arnitra Hollman, the daughter of Hollman Sr., took to the mic and delivered her call to the church goers in attendance.
“My daddy used to say ‘Love drives out darkness,’” she told the small one-room church. Passionate cries of agreement echoed against the orange and white walls. She emphasized the fact that the family’s fight is ongoing and action to hold the officer accountable can’t let up.
Standing right by Arnitra Hollman’s side was local Atlanta filmmaker Eldredge Washington. Washington, the director of What About the Deacon? shared the sentiment and the message in his remarks. As an organizer of the Justice Weekend, Washington commented on how choosing the Beloved Community Church was a simple choice. It is “a church that believes in justice,” he declared to the crowd.
In attendance at the service was Georgia State Rep. Eric Bell of District 75, covering Jonesboro and Clayton County. Bell agreed with the family’s demand for accountability. To him, “elected leadership has a role to play in not only Hollman, Sr.’s case but other examples of police violence.”
Bell spoke on the need to pass regulations at the state level that prohibit police from engaging in certain behaviors, such as pit maneuvers and high-speed chases through population dense neighborhoods. According to a study by the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Georgia has the highest death rate in police pursuits of any state.
Measures such as increasing training hours and banning pit maneuvers will help increase public safety, according to Bell. He noted that these measures will “not only protect civilian lives, but police as well.”
Connecting her father’s death to broader Atlanta politics, Arnitra Hollman brought up the recently completed Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, also known as “Cop City” among locals. The center is made up of fake neighborhoods built for the purpose of conducting military-style police raids in simulated residential areas.
“You have got to have some kind of mental training,” stressed the Hollman, Sr.’s daughter. She believes that giving police a facility to train in military tactics won’t bring peace to Atlanta, only more violence.
All the energy that the Hollman family put into the congregation that Sunday morning was not only absorbed but reflected by the people in attendance. For every word the daughter spoke, a sea of applause flooded the space. Always floating to the top was the call for justice, a call for accountability.
Politicians, children and every Atlantan present in that church found themselves asking the same question: What about the deacon?
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