Robert Seymour, Civil Rights Activist and Chapel Hill Pastor, Dies at 95

Posted Oct 11, 2020
Local pastor and longtime civil rights activist Rev. Robert Seymour has died at age 95. Seymour became the first pastor at Chapel Hill’s Binkley Memorial Baptist Church in 1959. During the 1960s, he fought for racial integration of both his church and the wider community. The pastor had a close personal relationship with Dean Smith. (Chapelboro.com)

Related: Campus Connections

New data shows UNC’s statewide impact
UNC has released new fiscal year 2025 economic impact data that shows the influence of North Carolina’s flagship university on the state through the categories...
Fri Sep 4, 2026

Best-selling author, UNC alum Kristy Woodson Harvey delivers speech at New Student Convocation
The class of 2030 and transfer students gathered for New Student Convocation, where bestselling author and UNC alumna Kristy Woodson Harvey delivered a keynote address,...
Thu Sep 3, 2026

UNC football optimism flows - along with the beer - as Tar Heels take Dublin
It started out as a means of following a country star. Well, Chase Rice wasn’t a country star yet when Sophie Watkeys, 32, first started...
Wed Sep 2, 2026

UNC Libraries is Home to a Special Dolly Parton Recording. Here’s What to Know
People across the United States and around the world are mourning country music legend and philanthropist Dolly Parton, who died on Tuesday at 80 years...
Mon Aug 31, 2026