58 years later, Green, a member of the Little Rock Nine and a MSU alumnus, came to campus to discuss his experience at Central High School.

Invited by the College of Social Science, Green spoke to students and faculty about race issues and his life during the civil rights movement.

“We live in a period of time in which in many ways, the faces of the problem look like the same thing that I experienced some 50 years ago,” Green said. 

“Everything old, is new again, is the phrase that comes to mind.”

The main point of Green’s talk was for students to creatively use their minds and the opportunities at MSU to change racial and social issues for the better.

“I don’t expect you to do the kind of things I’ve done or even what people in your family have done but I think you have an opportunity to forge a wide path,” Green said. “This is a great institution, a great time and the goal is not only to try and leave your mark on the world but also to live fearlessly.”

Green became the first African American to graduate from Central High School in 1958. Green then attended MSU on a scholarship personally underwrote by former MSU president, John Hannah. Green graduated with a bachelor's in sociology.

“I really admire all the work he’s done. People like him, like Martin Luther King, like Malcolm X, paved the way for minorities groups like myself,” Community governance and advocacy sophomore Tristyn Walton said. 

“And I think that for him to come back just to talk about his life story is something that I think that I couldn’t miss out on.”

Green received recognition from civil rights activist such as Martin Luther King Jr., who attended his high school graduation, and Nelson Mandela.

“We began to talk and as I told him how he had touched me, he said something that blew me away," Green said. "He told me how he watched what the Little Rock Nine went through and he thought to himself, if these nine children can make it through this then why not I."