Jennie Green: Finding Riches in Diversity

Jennie Green says her life is like a series of amusement park rides.

“Some rides you have to appreciate as being of high risk,” she said. “Others are for the pure joy. On others, you just have to catch your breath. I enjoy them all.”

As an employee at Southwest Regional Educational Laboratory, a nonprofit organization in Los Alamitos, Green helps school districts in several states to serve “people of color and cultural diversity.”

“I don’t use the term minorities because it doesn’t accurately convey the fact that with the changing demography, cultural and ethnic diversity is becoming the norm,” she said. “It concerns me that too few people in Orange County see that in a positive way.” That diversity, she said, adds richness to life for those who take time to learn about other cultures.

“In today’s information society, people need to be literate in every sense of the word, to be well informed about a number of perspectives and world views,” Green said. “That means being acculturated, not assimilated. The Orange curtain has holes through which people of color are flowing to make it a more vibrant place.”

Green, who speaks Spanish and French and has a doctorate in education, also is a member of the Orange County chapter of Links, a national public service group for black women, and president of the Orange County Alumnae Chapter Delta Sigma Theta Inc., a national black sorority.

“In Orange County, Delta Sigma Theta is a safe harbor for African-American women,” she said. “It provides a connection to black women who have achieved. It gives you a sense of awe and humility about how creative, caring and talented African-American women have always been and gives you a support group so you don’t have to feel alone.”

Since her childhood in south Philadelphia, she has had strong supporters, including loving parents, a strong church, many mentors and a supportive spouse and two sons.

“I always had cheerleaders along my way. They allowed me to become what I wanted to become when the larger society didn’t offer those options.

“The whole mosaic of south Philly, despite its hostility, gave me respect for diversity. There was exposure to arts, language and culture. I was inculcated with a sense of who I was as an African-American. I knew my history. Nobody had to tell me who I was.”

Today, Green loves to cook, dance, decorate and read. And she embraces life, she said.

“I’ve sustained a lot of personal losses, but when I get up each day I still feel like I’m going to a divine comedy. It’s not to say life is a crystal stair, but it’s choosing to see the best in every situation. It’s changing stumbling blocks into steppingstones.