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Originally from LaJunta, Colorado, Arthur Erthal Green (Law 1945) enlisted in the military in 1942. He was promoted to the level of sergeant while stationed in California. There, he met his future wife, Gwendolyn, at a social event. The couple married shortly after in Colorado. Boulder was unwelcoming to Green and his family due to their race; for example, Boulder barbershops refused to cut Green’s hair. Arthur and Gwendolyn Green started an NCAACP chapter in Boulder.4 In 1945, Green - who believed he was only the second Black student to attend the law school5 - graduated from the University of Colorado Law School.
The Greens moved to Oakland, California shortly after his law school graduation. Arthur worked for Golden State Insurance while supporting Gwendolyn in her civil rights work. After a short time in San Diego, the couple settled in Los Angeles, where they co-founded the New Frontier Democratic Club, which is currently the largest Democratic Club in the state. Gwendolyn went on to be a significant civil rights and workers’ rights activist nationally and regionally. She credited her success, in part, to having “a husband [Arthur Green] that was willing to work together and we were involved.”
Publication Date
1945
Recommended Citation
Ciota, Rebecca, "Arthur Erthal Green (1945)" (1945). Black History at Colorado Law. 4.
https://scholar.law.colorado.edu/black-history/4