[2] 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.
[6] As an advocate for school integration, Beverly Long joined the organization Help Our Public Education Incorporated (HOPE Inc.).
[7] To appeal to the largest demographic of Georgians, the organization maintained a neutral stance on the issue of integration, but by advocating for the retention of the public school system HOPE Inc. implicitly supported desegregation.
[8] Other notable members of HOPE Inc. included former U.S. Attorney James Doresey, the former manager of the Atlanta chapter of the Red Cross Harry Boyte, and the former Georgia state president of the League of Women Voters Frances Pauley.
[11] Throughout her life, Long served on several committees and worked with numerous organizations committed to advocating for mental health awareness on local, national, and global levels.
[17] She also worked with the United Nations on issues related to mental health and was an active committee member of the Biennial Conference series produced by the Global Consortium for the Advancement of Promotion and Prevention.
[12] In 2007, Long received an honorary Doctor of Science from Emory University in Atlanta, GA in recognition of her advocacy for mental health.