Beverly Long

Beverly Benson Long (March 3, 1920 – October 30, 2015) was an American activist from Athens, Georgia. She was particularly invested in the fight to desegregate Georgia's public schools between 1958 and 1961. Later, she became an advocate for those with mental illnesses. Early life and education Beverly Benson Long was the daughter of William Howard Benson and Charlotte Moor Benson of Athens, Georgia. She had one younger brother, Howard Edsel "Ed" Benson. Long's father founded Benson's Bakery in downtown Athens in 1918, two years before Long was born. In 1941, Long earned a Bachelor of Science from the University of Georgia. She then received a master's in public health from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1942 and a master's in psychology from the University of Georgia in 1959. Civil rights advocacy In 1954, the United States Supreme Court ruled on the case Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas and declared that all public schools in the country must desegregate. To counter this ruling, Georgia passed several laws with the intent of preserving segregation throughout the state. These laws decreed that all Georgia public schools would close if any school integrated within the state.