Richard Green (chancellor)

Dr. Richard R. Green (May 27, 1936 – May 10, 1989) was the first black New York City School Chancellor. He served in this capacity from March 1988 to May 1989.

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Early life

Dr. Green was born in Menifee, Arkansas in 1936.[1] When he was two years old, Dr. Green and his three siblings traveled by train with their mother, who moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota. He grew up in a Minneapolis housing project, and spent time in a reform school. He later rose to become a teacher, principal, and then the first black Superintendent of the Minneapolis Public Schools.

Selection as Chancellor

Dr. Green was selected over other black finalist Dr. Bernard Gifford to become the first black Chancellor of the New York City Public Schools. Dr. Green had the support of New York City Board of Education President Robert F. Wagner, Jr. over United Federation of Teachers President Sandra Feldman, who favored Dr. Gifford. On March 3, 1988, Dr. Green was installed as Chancellor at a ceremony at Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn. He inherited a school system plagued by low graduation rates, a high dropout rate, truancy, guns and other violence, and assembled a team of educators to work with him in addressing these issues and making a difference in academics and safety for the schoolchildren of New York City. In the fall of 1988, Dr. Green and UFT President Sandra Feldman made peace with each other by holding a human-sized yellow pencil together on a public school stage, as they welcomed the only group of new schoolteachers which he recruited into the system at a special ceremony.

Death

Dr. Green, 52, was a lifelong asthmatic. After arriving in New York City, the air quality due to pollution bothered him, and he had been taken to the hospital having trouble breathing after becoming chancellor. On the evening of May 10, 1989, Dr. Green suffered an asthma attack at his apartment in Manhattan. He told his wife "Gwen, I'm not going to make it this time," and died before help arrived. The official cause of death was cardiac arrest due to inability to breathe. He was returned for burial in Minnesota. A memorial service was held at the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine, New York, with the eulogy given by New York City Mayor Edward Koch.

Sources

References

  1. ^ "Chancellor Richard R. Green Central Files, 1988-1989, Series 1130". NYC.gov. The City of New York. http://www.nyc.gov/html/records/html/collections/education/1130.shtml. Retrieved 2009-09-26. 
Academic offices
Preceded by
Dr. Charles Schonhaut (acting chancellor)
Schools Chancellor of New York City
1988- 1989
Succeeded by
Bernard Mecklowitz (Acting)