Winifred Green

Winifred A. Green (1937 – February 6, 2016) was an American activist from Mississippi during the Civil Rights Movement. She spent her life leading grassroots movements impacting youth and education,[1][2][3] and was a white advocate for integrated education beginning in 1960s Jackson, Mississippi, a time when few white Southerners were leaders in the Civil Rights Movement.

After a successful lawsuit, initiated by Medgar and Myrlie Evers, schools in several Mississippi districts, including Green's home of Jackson, were required to write desegregation plans for the 1964-1965 school year. A Mississippi Citizens' Council attempted to stop the integration by advocating for school closure rather than allowing black students to attend segregated white schools.[4] In response to this, Green joined with other Southern whites from the Jackson area and formed Mississippians for Public Education to argue the importance for all children of keeping Mississippi schools open.[1]

Green worked as a volunteer alongside lifelong friend Marian Wright Edelman with Freedom Summer[5] a campaign begun in June 1964 to attempt to register as many African-American voters as possible in Mississippi.

Green helped found the Southern Rural Black Women's Initiative in 2002 and served on its executive committee, an organization formed to help rural poor women of the American South.[3][6] She served on the board of directors of the Children's Defense Fund,[7] an organization founded by Marian Wright Edelman.[8][9][10] She worked with the American Friends Service Committee.[11] She was a graduate of Millsaps College where she met Patt Derian and began her lifelong career as a Civil Rights activist.[10] Green died at the age of 78 on February 6, 2016, in New Orleans, Louisiana.

References
  1. Prichard Morris, JoAnne (February 12, 2016). "Winifred Green". Jackson Free Press, Inc. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  2. Wilkins, Roger (October 12, 1994). "Now or Never for the N.A.A.C.P." The New York Times. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  3. Fleming, Cynthia Griggs (2004). In the Shadow of Selma : The Continuing Struggle for Civil Rights in the Rural South. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. ISBN 978-0742508118.
  4. Dittmer, John (1995). Local People: The Struggle for Civil Rights in Mississippi (Illini Books ed.). Urbana: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 978-0-252-06507-1.
  5. Jackson, MS: Winifred Green | Jackson Free Press | Jackson, MS, accessdate: February 21, 2016
  6. "Southern Rural Black Women's Initiative - Executive Committee". Southern Rural Black Women's Initiative. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  7. Businessweek: Winifred Green: Executive Profile & Biography - Businessweek, accessdate: February 21, 2016
  8. "Children's Defense Fund Board of Directors". Children's Defense Fund. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  9. "Winifred Green (1937 - 2016) Obituary". The Clarion-Ledger. 12 February 2016. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  10. Wright Edelman, Marian (12 February 2016). "Winifred Green: An Unsung Warrior for Racial and Economic Justice". Huffington Post. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  11. Henry, Aaron; Curry, Constance (1995). Aaron Henry: The Fire Ever Burning. Jackson, Mississippi: University of Mississippi Press.
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