Collene Rogers - On the importance of working together as a community and her involvement with civil rights organizations

In this interview, Collene Rogers begins by explaining the importance of working together as a community, standing up for oneself, and always working to improve one's own life. She then tells her experiences working for New York City banks, in which every branch had its own environment and diverse customers. While working at these banks, Rogers would swap departments and roles constantly to prevent boredom, giving her great insight into how banks work beyond deposits, withdrawals, and loans. She also describes her personal experience of living in New York City, and her desire to always return home at some point. Rogers then details her involvement with various civil rights groups, most notably the NAACP. When she returned to Chapel Hill, the local NAACP chapter was struggling, so Rogers worked hard to restore it to prominence. She then describes the many ways institutions discriminate against African Americans, and how some programs, like public housing, make it impossible for recipients to become financially independent.