Born on this day in 1941, Ernest Green, a member of the Little Rock Nine, was the first Black student to graduate from Little Rock Central High School in 1958. After attending Michigan State University, where he discovered the anonymous benefactor supporting his education was MSU President John A. Hannah, Green continued his activism and earned degrees in sociology.
TRANSCRIPT
Ernest Gideon Green was born on this day in 1941 was one of the Little Rock Nine, a group of students who, in 1957, were the first Black students ever to attend classes at Little Rock Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. According to his biography from The History Makers, Green was the first Black student to graduate from the school in 1958. Following graduation, Green attended Michigan State University and continued to engage in activism and protests supporting the Civil Rights movement. MSU Today reports that he attended MSU at the behest of an anonymous benefactor. Green later learned that the anonymous donor was John A. Hannah, President of Michigan State, and an occasional target of protests by Civil Rights activists including Green. Green graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1962 and a Master’s degree in sociology in 1964.