Betty Geer

When the Civil Rights Movement came to North Carolina, Betty Baldwin Geer was ready for it. She was raised in Chapel Hill with a strong sense of responsibility to her community, pride in herself, and dedication to do what's right. These values were instilled by her parents and reinforced by her church, St. Joseph Christian Methodist Church, where Ms. Geer attended meetings to organize marches on segregated businesses in Chapel Hill. After graduating from Lincoln High School in 1962, Ms. Geer attended A&T, where she became an active participant in the Movement in Greensboro. She was jailed repeatedly for marching on segregated businesses there, and participated in demonstrations in Chapel Hill when she returned home during the summer. After a demonstration in Greensboro, Ms. Geer was jailed overnight in the heat of the countryside, but throughout it all recalls singing 'We Shall Overcome.'