An East Lansing elementary school will now bear the name of a local civil rights pioneer.
The East Lansing school board voted unanimously Monday to rename Pinecrest Elementary School. It now will be known as Dr. Robert L. Green Elementary.
Green became the first-ever African American to buy a home in East Lansing in 1962.
The city’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Administrator, Elaine Hardy, spoke at the meeting.
She has worked on the school’s renaming committee, as well as the effort to put up a Michigan historical marker near the home.
“He opened doors for Black people all over this country in order for them to be able to live in neighborhoods that traditionally would not allow them to.”
Green’s children attended the school. His son Vince spoke before the vote, saying growing up in East Lansing was “a phenomenal experience.”