2007 Constitution Day Ernest Green

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release August 24, 2007Contact: Alicia Steger 516.572.9634e-mail: alicia.steger@ncc.edu

 

 

Constitution Day at Nassau Community College"Ernest Green: An American Hero Speaks"Integrating Little Rock High School in 1957"September 17

Garden City, NY – Nassau Community College is honored to celebrate Constitution Day 2007 with a presentation by Ernest Green, a member of the "Little Rock Nine," the first students to integrate Little Rock High School in 1957. The program – which also celebrates the 50th anniversary of the integration – will take place on Monday, September 17 at 9:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. in the College Center Building.

Born in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1941, Green and eight other African American students were the first to integrate Central High School following the 1954 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education that declared segregation illegal. They later would become known as the "Little Rock Nine." Green, who graduated from Little Rock High School, went on to receive his bachelor's degree in social science and master's degree in sociology from Michigan State University. He has also received honorary doctorates from Michigan State University, Tougaloo College and Central State University.

Green is presently the Managing Director of Public Finance for Lehman Brothers' Washington, DC office. Prior to joining Lehman Brothers, he was president of Ernest Green & Associates, a minority consulting firm that provided technical assistance in marketing, financial management and economic forecasting. He also served as Assistant Secretary of Labor for Employment and Training during the Carter Administration.

Green is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Executive Leadership Council, the Legislative Action Committee of the Public Securities Association and chair of the National Association of Securities Professionals and Africare. In the past, he has also served on the Board of the Directors of the March of Dimes Foundation and the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation.

The recipient of numerous awards, at age 17 Green was the youngest recipient of the NAACP's Spingard Medal. In 1999, President Clinton presented him, along with the rest of the Little Rock Nine, the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest honor given to a civilian, for outstanding bravery during the integration of Little Rock High School in 1957.

Ernest Green's appearance at NCC is sponsored by the following groups: the Nassau Community College Constitution Day Committee, the Black History Month Committee, the Women's History Month Committee, the Hispanic Heritage Month Committee, Interact, ALANA, the Liberty Partnership, HARAYH and the Cultural Program. For more information about the upcoming event, please call 516.572.7153.

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