Pearl George Oral History

Born as Pearl Brown in Baton Rouge on October 24, 1934, her father left the family when she was 9 years old and she and her three siblings were raised by their mother Florence. Instilled with self sufficiency and personal pride, George went on to graduate from McKinley High School and Totty’s Business School. George married her husband Charles in New Roads, La. in August of 1951. She gave birth to a daughter, Debra on November 24, 1951. Her husband was drafted into the Korean Conflict and killed t on August 29, 1952. Beginning in the early 1960’s George was active in the Civil Rights movement in Baton Rouge participating in the desegregation of lunch counters. Over the years she was arrested multiple times most notably in an attempt to integrate the swimming pool at City Park. She was President of the NAACP youth council and became the first African American woman elected to serve on the Metro Council in 1976. She served two more terms in 1980 and 1984. George was a tireless champion of the Eden Park neighborhood and founded the Eden Park Community Center and helped establish a library on Gus Young Ave. She helped establish the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank in 1982. Died in Baton Rouge on January 5, 1997 and is buried in the Louisiana National Cemetery in Baton Rouge.