Former Delaware congressman and Wilmington activist Herman M. Holloway Jr. has died.
Holloway was considered by many to be a leader, activist, and caring person, and was instrumental in mentoring and growing many supporters in Wilmington.
“Mr. Herman has always promoted the rules of democracy,” said Derrick “Pastor D” Johnson, pastor of Joshua Harvest Church in Wilmington. “He never once, and I’ve attended many speeches and rallies, never made a policy, introduced a bill, or mentioned his father’s name or how a democracy should work. We never talked about the issues.”
The cause of death has not been disclosed, but friends said the 79-year-old had been in poor health for some time before passing away on March 3. Visitation for Holloway will begin at 9:30 a.m. Thursday, followed by the funeral service at 11 a.m. Congo Legacy Center, 501 W. 28th St.
Mr. Holloway was the son of the late Sen. Herman Holloway, Delaware’s first black congressman.
Like his father, he became involved in politics and activism, recruiting people to advocate on behalf of others in Delaware.
NAACP Delaware Chapter President Richard Smith met with the Holloways, who fought for people’s rights in Wilmington and Delaware in the 1960s. Smith remembers the father-son team that worked to end the National Guard’s months-long occupation of Wilmington in 1968 after days of rioting after the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
“He was one of many forces in the state of Delaware,” Smith said, adding that Holloway’s death is a loss to the people of the state.
“He was a great advocate for tenant rights,” he added. “He probably worked on it until his death.”
Mr. Holloway served as state House District 3 representative from 1977 to 1983 before resigning after being convicted of a misdemeanor charge of tax evasion, a charge he denies. Former Governor Mike Castle pardoned him in 1990.
After receiving permission from a judge to run, Holloway was re-elected to the House of Representatives in 1992, replacing Jim Sills, who became mayor of Wilmington. In 1994, he gave up his House seat to challenge Margaret Rose Henry in a Senate special election and general election for his late father’s position. He lost, and Henry became the first African American woman to serve in the Delaware State Senate.
Outside of politics, Holloway founded the Martin Luther King Jr. Complaint Reference Center to provide assistance to Wilmington residents, especially those in the city’s Southbridge neighborhood. He served as the organization’s executive director for his 48 years.
Two phone numbers outside the Southbridge facility on South Heald Street went unanswered Wednesday.
Mr. Herman, along with the late Congressman Al O. Plant Sr., hosted a local television show, “Community Crossfire,” where they talked about community issues and interviewed guests.
Johnson said that’s how he met Herman, who ended up appearing on the show.
“At a time when his political prominence and work with the King Center were at the height of his political prominence and his work with the King Center, he focused squarely on incarcerated people, the families of incarcerated people, and conditions inside and outside of prison,” Johnson said. I am especially grateful to you for giving me this.” “And he put a lot of legislative attention and attention into this.”
According to Congo Funeral Home, Holloway is survived by four children: Tracy Shy, Lisa Holloway-Shinn, Herman Holloway III and Marlo Holloway-Barris.
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