224. Scholar, Activist, Trailblazer: The Enduring Legacy of Dr. Lorenzo Greene

Connecticut is a small state that has had a huge national impact. In this episode, we celebrate someone that we are proud to say was born in Connecticut and went on to be a pioneering historian in Black history. Dr. Lorenzo Johnston Greene received his BA in from Howard University in 1924, his MA from Columbia University in 1926 and his Ph.D. in 1942. He was born in Ansonia, Connecticut. We can learn more about his family from the 1900 federal census record. His father Willie was born in 1858 in Virginia before the end of slavery, and his mother was born in West Virginia in 1870. Both came to Connecticut and by the time Lorenzo was born in 1899, he had five older brothers and sisters. The census states that both of his parents can read and write and their children are in school. By the time of the 1920 census, Lorenz has two older brothers who work in a brass mill.

What made Lorenzo want to go to college and become a historian? When did he work with Dr. Carter Woodson, the "Father of Black History" and what were Greene's own lasting contributions to the study of Black history?

Our guest is Dr. Stacey Close, Associate Vice Provost and Vice President of Equity and Diversity at Eastern Connecticut State University. Dr. Close is a co-author of African American Connecticut Explored, published by Wesleyan University Press, and a noted authority on Hartford and the Great Migration. You can learn more about that in GTN episode: #181. Hartford and the Great Migration, 1914-1950.

One last thing about Dr. Greene. In the 1930 federal census, he is 31 years old and working for Dr. Woodson as a field representative and research assistant. Greene lists his job as "Historical Investigating Officer" - he had such a strong sense of his mission even as a young man during the depths of the Great Depression. Thank you to Dr. Close. And thank you for listening! We'll be back in two weeks with another episode of Grating the Nutmeg. History matters - be part of it.

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This episode of Grating the Nutmeg was produced by Mary Donohue and engineered by Patrick O'Sullivan at highwattagemedia.com/ Follow GTN on our socials - Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and BlueSky.

Follow executive producer Mary Donohue on Facebook and Instagram at West Hartford Town Historian. Join us in two weeks for our next episode of Grating the Nutmeg, the podcast of Connecticut history. Thank you for listening!