Vera Mae Green facts for kids

Vera Mae Green (September 6, 1928 – January 17, 1982) was an American anthropologist, educator, and scholar. She made important contributions to the study of the Caribbean, different ethnic groups, black families, and poverty. She was one of the first African-American experts on the Caribbean and the first to study the culture of the Dutch Caribbean. Vera Mae Green also developed ways to study African-American anthropology, recognizing the many different kinds of black families and communities. She was also interested in human rights around the world.

Early Life and Learning

Vera Mae Green was born on September 6, 1928, in Chicago, Illinois. She grew up in poorer areas of the city and went to public schools. She was an only child and loved to read. From a young age, she was interested in anthropology, which is the study of human societies and cultures. She noticed how different Native Americans were shown in movies compared to their real cultures.

Sometimes, Green's studies were delayed because she didn't have enough money. But she always stayed interested in social science. She received a scholarship and went to William Penn College in Oskaloosa, Iowa, to study sociology and psychology. In 1952, she earned a bachelor's degree in sociology from Roosevelt University. There, she learned from anthropologist St. Clair Drake.

Before moving to New York City for more studies, she worked at several social welfare agencies in Chicago. She found this work helpful but wanted to continue her education. She enrolled at Columbia University. At Columbia, she studied how social stress, health, and sickness were connected in East Harlem, New York City. She also supported a Native American anthropologist, Gene Weltfish, who faced difficulties during the McCarthy era. Green's support for Weltfish helped her get into Columbia University's doctoral program.

In 1955, Green earned a Master of Arts degree in anthropology from Columbia University. Later, in 1969, she earned her Ph.D. from the University of Arizona. By 1980, fewer than 100 African Americans had master's or Ph.D. degrees in anthropology, and Vera Mae Green was one of them.

Her Work as an Anthropologist

Vera Mae Green made big contributions to understanding the Caribbean, different ethnic groups, black families, and poverty.

After getting her master's degree, Green continued helping communities. In 1956, she worked with the United Nations in Mexico, focusing on community development. She also worked on community development in India for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Green's own experiences and her work on poverty made her a great researcher for anthropologist Oscar Lewis's study. In 1963, she helped Lewis research poor urban areas in Puerto Rico and New York. Her notes from this project became part of Lewis's book, La Vida: A Puerto Rican Family in the Culture of Poverty—San Juan and New York.

Green then started her Ph.D. program at the University of Arizona. Her research for her Ph.D. took place on the Caribbean island of Aruba. Her paper, Aspects of Interethnic Integration in Aruba, Netherlands Antilles, looked at how different ethnic groups lived together. Her work was groundbreaking because it was unusual for black students to research non-black groups at that time. She was the first African-American expert on the Caribbean.

A Caribbeanist is a scholar who studies the Caribbean region. Green was known for her studies of family and ethnic relationships in the Dutch Antilles and the United States. In 1974, she published a book called Migrants in Aruba, based on her Ph.D. research.

Green was determined to create better ways to study African-American anthropology. She always stressed that black families, communities, and cultures are very diverse. She wrote articles about this, like "The Confrontation of Diversity Within the Black Community." In this article, she showed how black communities had both unifying and dividing influences.

In 1978, her article "The Black Extended Family: Some Research Suggestions" was published. In it, she argued that studies of black families needed to look beyond just family ties. She believed they should also consider how culture, language, and different situations affected families.

Throughout her career, she also focused on the diversity of poverty, migrants, and human rights. In 1980, she co-edited a book called International Human Rights: Contemporary Issues. In the book's introduction, Green and her co-editor suggested that countries should agree on what human rights are.

As a teacher, Green's work on poverty, immigration, and people of color was a main part of her classes. She taught at several universities, including the University of Iowa and the University of Houston. In 1972, she joined Rutgers University. There, she became a graduate advisor and chair of the Anthropology Department. From 1976 to 1982, she directed the Latin American Institute at Rutgers.

Green was also a founder of the Association of Black Anthropologists and served as its first president. She was fluent in Spanish, French, Urdu, Tamil, Dutch, German, and Papiamento.

Her Faith

Vera Mae Green was a Quaker, which is a type of Christian faith. She used her knowledge to help her religious community. In 1973, she studied why black people were not joining the Quaker organization. She shared her findings in a report called "Blacks and Quakerism: A Preliminary Report." She found that some people didn't know much about Quakerism. She also found that some parts of the faith, like its focus on humanity, appealed to black people, while others, like "patience" and "passivity," did not.

Groups She Belonged To

• Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton (1981–1982)
• American Anthropological Association
• Association of Black Anthropologists
• Mid-Atlantic Council of Latin American Studies

Her Legacy

Vera Mae Green died on January 17, 1982, in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

In 1980, the Association of Black Anthropologists honored her for her service to anthropology, her dedication to people of color, and for guiding young anthropologists.

Green never married and did not have children. She left her belongings, including a collection of Caribbean paintings, to be sold. The money from these sales went to support two scholarship programs for black and Puerto Rican students at Rutgers University and William Penn College. She also arranged for her library and papers to be kept at the Tuskegee Institute.

An article called "African-American Soul Force: Dance, Music and Vera Mae Green" was written about her love for dance, especially the rhumba.

See also

• List of African-American firsts