Nellie Weaver Greene

Nellie Weaver Greene
Greene, from a 1930 newspaper
Born1870s
Tuscaloosa, Alabama, U.S.
DiedOctober 6, 1957
Washington, D.C., U.S.
OccupationsEducator, clubwoman

Nellie Weaver Greene (1870s – October 6, 1957) was an American educator and clubwoman. She was president of the Oklahoma Federation of Colored Women's Clubs from 1924 to 1928. "She is an outstanding figure in the civic, educational, social and religious life of the state of Oklahoma," reported a 1932 newspaper profile.[1]

Early life and education

Greene was born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.[2] She graduated from Fisk University in 1894.[3] She was a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.[4] In 1940, in her sixties, she earned a bachelor's degree from Howard University.[5]

Career

Greene taught school in Bessemer, Alabama, as a young woman,[3] and founded a women's club in Tuscaloosa, later named the Nellie Weaver Greene 3x10 Club.[6] She taught home economics at Manual Training High School in Muskogee, Oklahoma,[2][7] and was active in relief efforts in Muskogee during the Great Depression.[8]

Greene was the elected president of the Muskogee Federation of Women's Clubs for nineteen consecutive terms, from 1915 to 1935.[1][9][10] During her tenure as leader, the federation opened and expanded the Phillis Wheatley branch of the public library, opening library access to Black residents of Muskogee.[9] She was librarian at the Wheatley branch in its early years.[11]

Greene was the fourth president of the Oklahoma Federation of Colored Women's Clubs, from 1924[12] to 1928. She gave speeches encouraging Black women in Oklahoma to vote,[13] and marking Frederick Douglass's birthday.[14] In summer 1926 she attended National Association of Colored Women's Clubs events in Washington, Chicago, and California, and at the Sesquicentennial Exposition in Philadelphia.[15] In 1930 she toured Europe and went to the International Council of Women meeting in Austria, with other prominent Black American women including Hallie Quinn Brown, Meta Pelham, and Sallie Wyatt Stewart.[7][16]

Greene organized the Oklahoma State Club in Washington, D.C. The club honored her leadership at a 1951 event.[17]

Personal life

Weaver married George Greene. She died at Freedmen's Hospital in Washington, D.C., in 1957, in her eighties.[2] Her son William Henry Greene, a prominent Washington physician,[18] established the Nellie Weaver Greene Scholarship at Howard University, in her memory.[19][20] The scholarship supported outstanding female students from Oklahoma who attended Howard.[21]

References

  1. ^ a b "A Scrapbook for Women in Public Life: Nellie Weaver Greene, Popular Educator". The Chicago Defender. 1932-01-09. p. 6. Retrieved 2026-02-01 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ a b c "Former Manual Teacher Dies in Washington". Muskogee Daily Phoenix and Times-Democrat. 1957-10-08. p. 2. Retrieved 2026-02-01 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ a b Fisk University (1900). Catalogue of the Officers and Students of Fisk University. p. 90.
  4. ^ "Mrs. Nellie Greene to Speak for Women". Washington Afro American. 1947-11-08. p. 11. Retrieved 2026-02-01 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "155 to Graduate from Howard U." Washington Afro American. 1940-06-08. p. 7. Retrieved 2026-02-01 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Nellie Weaver Greene 3x10 Club Oldest in City". The Mobile Beacon and Alabama Citizen. 1952-05-31. p. 4. Retrieved 2026-02-01 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ a b "Sailing for Austria". The Chicago Defender. 1930-05-10. p. 6. Retrieved 2026-01-31 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Mrs. Nellie Weaver Greene Addresss Club Women Here". The Call. 1934-01-05. pp. 1, 3. Retrieved 2026-02-01 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ a b "Elected Head of Federation for 18th Time; Nellie Weaver-Greene Makes History". The Chicago Defender. 1932-02-27. p. 6. Retrieved 2026-02-01 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Muskogee's Swanky Club Observes Birthday; Royal Art Club Celebrates 25th Year of Service". New Pittsburgh Courier. 1935-11-30. p. 8. Retrieved 2026-02-01 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Federation Votes Ardmore for 40th Annual Session". The Black Dispatch. 1948-09-04. p. 3. Retrieved 2026-02-01 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Mrs. Nellie W. Greene". The Black Dispatch. 1923-09-06. p. 1. Retrieved 2026-02-01 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Prominent Club Woman Speaker at Tulsa, Okla". The Chicago Defender. 1932-02-27. p. 6. Retrieved 2026-02-01 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Guthrie Clubs Celebrate Douglass Birthday". The Black Dispatch. 1925-02-26. p. 6. Retrieved 2026-02-01 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "President of State Federation Clubs in Washington". The Black Dispatch. 1926-08-05. p. 5. Retrieved 2026-02-01 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "Prominent Women Who Are Sailing for Quinquennial Convention". The Chicago Defender. 1930-05-17. p. 6. Retrieved 2026-02-01 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ "Mrs. Nellie Green Honored by Dee Cee Okla. State Club". The Black Dispatch. 1951-03-03. p. 9. Retrieved 2026-02-01 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ "Dr. W. Henry Greene Named President of Natl. Sports Foundation; Has Annual Meet". The New York Age. 1945-06-30. p. 11. Retrieved 2026-02-01 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ Kappa Alpha Psi, 100th Anniversary Booklet (Kappa Alpha Psi 2011): 13.
  20. ^ "Establishes $10,000 Scholarship Fund". Jet: 17. January 15, 1959.
  21. ^ "Federated Club Women Give Howard Award". The Black Dispatch. 1963-07-19. p. 4. Retrieved 2026-02-01 – via Newspapers.com.
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