EL Honors Civil Rights Leader Dr. Robert Green with School Renaming, Historical Marker
On Friday, Sept. 24, the City of East Lansing and East Lansing Public Schools honored Dr. Robert L. Green, a nationally-recognized civil rights leader who was one of the first Black homeowners in East Lansing and whose children were some of the first to integrate Pinecrest Elementary School.
As ELi reported in April, Green filed a federal lawsuit after he was denied a chance to buy the house at 341 Southlawn Ave., in East Lansing. According to Green, the house was offered to white people but repeatedly refused to him. Green later purchased a house at 207 Bessemaur Dr., a milestone now designated with a new historical marker.

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Green’s former home at 207 Bessemaur Dr.While speaking outside his former home on Bessemaur Drive, Green said that John Hannah, then president of Michigan State University, offered to buy a home and then sell it to Green, but Green told those in attendance that he declined because it did not solve the problem for potential Black homeowners after him.
Friday’s celebrations began with a ceremony to rename Pinecrest Elementary in honor of Green – the new name being Robert L. Green Elementary School. At the dedication ceremony, the students of Green Elementary performed several songs, including a new school song that recognized Green and his work as a civil rights leader.

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Students of Robert L. Green Elementary School perform as the school is renamed to honor local civil rights leader Dr. Robert L. Green.ELPS Board of Education President Terah Chambers and Treasurer Kath Edsall also spoke at the event.
Edsall, who had introduced the idea of renaming Pinecrest in honor of Green to the School Board, praised Green for his efforts to make the world a better place and recounted his record fighting for civil rights, including working alongside Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Prior to the event, Edsall told ELi over email that, “As a board of education trustee, I am honored that we have renamed, and on Friday will dedicate, an elementary school after Dr. Green. His battle against housing discrimination opened the doors for many other Black families to home ownership across the country, but that is not the entirety of his work.”
Chambers officially dedicated the school in honor of Green and presented him with a plaque for the occasion.

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School Board President Terah Chambers officially renames the former Pinecrest Elementary School, Robert L. Green Elementary School and presents Dr. Green with a plaque.Green then spoke, referring to his meeting with the children of Green Elementary the previous day. He praised them and encouraged them to value their teachers and to keep reading. He also thanked a lengthy list of individuals who have supported him throughout his life, including his wife, children, and other family members. He also mentioned the support of other civil rights leaders in attendance, including Martin Luther King III and Ernest Green, who was a member of the Little Rock Nine and who later attended MSU.

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The newly installed state historic marker honors Green’s work fighting for housing integration in East Lansing.Following the renaming ceremony, students and attendees marched to Green’s old home at 207 Bessemaur Dr., where the historical marker honoring Green’s work for civil rights and integration now stands.

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Dr. Green looks on as the march from Green Elementary to his former home gets underway.There, Council member Ron Bacon and Green’s son, Vince Green, spoke first. Vince Green thanked the audience for their support and recognized the national and international significance of his father’s work.
The president and CEO of CASE Credit Union, the president and CEO of Cinnaire, Michigan Senator Curtis Hertel Jr., and MSU President Sam Stanley also spoke.

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Vince Green, son of Dr. Robert L. Green, at Friday’s celebration.Individuals speaking on behalf of U.S. Representative Elissa Slotkin and U.S. Senator Gary Peters also provided Green with a plaque and said the story of his life and work had been entered into the Congressional Record.
Ernest Green spoke, recounting how he met Dr. Green outside Spartan Stadium when he was an undergraduate and Robert L. Green was a graduate student. He remembered, for those in attendance, the two men working together on civil rights issues.
“There is much more work to be done, but you couldn’t get where we are today without people like Bob Green,” he said.
Martin Luther King III spoke next, referring to the close familial ties between the Kings and the Greens.

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Green sits with Martin Luther King III“There is something called conscience – and that’s what resides in Dr. Green – that doesn’t ask: Is it safe? Is it popular? Is it politic? But [instead asks,] is it right? And that is who he is the personification of, doing so many things that are right,” said King.
Dr. Green spoke last, again thanking those who had supported him and honoring the successes of his students and family. Green shared with the audience some of the discrimination he faced, including a realtor harassing him and his wife and a Black MSU student seeking out his help after being denied a haircut in the Union because of his race.
“Everything changes, young people. This is a much different community today than it was when I arrived in 1960,” said Green. “Keep up the good work. Keep doing the right thing.”
This article was updated at 7 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2021 to include an additional quote about Dr. Green’s accomplishments.
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