Born in Little Rock, Ark., September 22, 1941, Ernest Green earned his high school diploma from Little Rock Central High School. He and eight other black students were the first to integrate Central High following the 1954 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education that declared segregation illegal. The group would later become known as the "Little Rock Nine."
Green then went on to receive his bachelor's degree in social science and his master's in sociology from Michigan State University. He also received honorary doctorates from Michigan State University, Tougaloo College, and Central State University.
He currently serves as the Managing Director of Public Finance for Lehman Brothers in Washington, D.C. Since joining the company in 1987, Green has served as senior investment banker for such key clients as the City of New York, State of New York, and the City of Chicago. He also was appointed chairman of the African Development Foundation by President Clinton, and chairman of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Capital Financing Advisory Board by Secretary of Education, Richard W. Riley.
Prior to joining Lehman Brothers, Green was president of Ernest Green & Associates, a minority consulting firm that provided technical assistance in marketing, financial management, and economic forecasting. Green served as Assistant Secretary of Labor for Employment and Training during the Carter administration where he formulated the U.S. presidential policy and directed implementation of a vast range of activities. Prior to his appointment as Assistant Secretary, Green served as Executive Director of the Recruitment and Training Program, Inc., an organization that recruits minorities for apprenticeship programs in the building trades.
Green is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Executive Leadership Council, and the Legislative Action Committee of the Public Securities Association. He also chairs the National Association of Securities Professionals and Africare. Recently, he joined Winrock International's board of directors. He also has served on the board of directors of the March of Dimes Foundation and the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation.
Honored with numerous awards, Green is the youngest recipient of the NAACP's Spingard Medal, which he received at the age of 17. On November 9, 1999, President Clinton presented Green — 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 Central High School in 1957.
As we mark the 50th anniversary of this important milestone, Ernest Green will share his personal experiences and courageous vision. Several books, movies, and documentaries have been produced chronicling Green and his classmates' historic year at Little Rock Central High School — the most recent being the Ernest Green Story, produced by the Walt Disney Corporation.
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