Rev. William Green Sr., advocate for educational opportunity, dies at 66

The Rev. William "Bill" E. Green Sr. spent his life encouraging others, determined to help people understand the opportunities available to them, regardless of the ZIP code where they grew up. He believed that "knowledge is power" and emphasized the importance of higher education, where he spent much of his career.

"He was always committed to helping young people," said Nann Green, his wife of nearly 40 years.

Surrounded by family, Bill Green died of cancer on April 13. He was 66.

Green grew up in Memphis before his family moved to the Watts neighborhood in Los Angeles. A mentor led him to St. Olaf College in Northfield, where he joined the football and track teams and was involved in the Black student union. He graduated in 1977 with a double major in political science and sociology.

Less than a decade later, Green returned to his alma mater as an employee — and stayed for 25 years, first working in admissions and then as the director of multicultural affairs and community outreach. In 2014, he went to North Central University in Minneapolis to work as the director of multicultural and international affairs. He traveled often, around the United States and internationally, to recruit students and promote diversity in education.

In 2021, he took a job with the city of Richfield as an equity and inclusion administrator.

"Bill's life made a statement that childhood struggles or community environment does not dictate who we are nor define who we can become," Nann Green said. It was a message he worked to convey to his own children and his students.

As a father, Bill Green had high expectations. He urged his children to go to college, even when they didn't always want to, remembered daughter Leora Green. She also remembers him pushing her as she trained for the track team. But no matter her performance, he focused on the metaphors of the sport: of taking on the hurdles, of finishing the race, of striving for the sake of a team.

"I could be totally dead last and he'd still be loudly cheering," Leora Green said. "He was always encouraging us to aim for more."

Bill was an active member of the Greater St. Paul Church of God in Christ and a strong believer in the power of both faith and community. He became a minister in the early 1980s and was involved in his church's chorus. He also helped out with a prison ministry and coached the track team at Hospitality House Youth Development, an outreach organization in north Minneapolis.

For his birthday on April 10, his family played video messages from friends and relatives around the world. The night before he died, he watched his favorite movie, "The Matrix."

Even in his final days, Bill Green was thinking about others and about scholarships that could be established in his memory. He also was worried about his wife's comfort as she tried to sleep in the chair in his hospital room, so he slid over in his bed so she could lie next to him. That was a "precious moment" that Nann Green said she's been holding onto in recent days.