The Elon community had an opportunity to listen to Kristen Green, author of the Elon class of 2022 common reading, Something Must Be Done About Prince Edward County: A Family, a Virginia Town, a Civil Rights Battle," tonight at 7:30 p.m. in the Alumni Gym.
During her speech Green talked about her life experiences and how these experiences led her to create her award-winning book.
When stating the reasons for writing this book, Green said, “The most important [reason] was because no one else had done it.”
Green’s book tells the true story of how her hometown in Virginia refused to comply with the Supreme Court’s unanimous decision on Brown v. Board of Education. Instead of obeying the new law, community officials decided to suspend the public schools. White leaders quickly established a private school while black students were left with limited options. The public schools were closed for five years and the black students of the county were either left without an education or forced to move in order to attend school.
Many people attended Green’s speech. Freshman Sophia Gerth said, “It made my reading experience a lot more meaningful to hear from Kristen Green firsthand.”
Green will also be participating in question-and-answer sessions with students in the Great Hall Thursday, Oct. 4, at 8 a.m. and 2:20 p.m., and Friday, Oct. 5, at 9:25 a.m. and 12:15 p.m.