Gerald Green
I often tell people I don’t have a “hard-luck” story and the truth is I don’t have one. All credit is due to my family, immediate and extended as well as my neighborhood and school environments. My cousin Synthia is an important part of those formative years. We twelve first cousins grew up only a couple blocks apart and all of us attended the Phyllis Wheatley Elementary school. Synthia always led with a smile even when she beating you in a card game or laughing at some rediculous event. A lot of us cannot remember when Synthia was not reading 4-5 books at a time. A small group of us would leave our environment and attend summer camp and junior high schools in which we were the minorities-literally. Synthia not only understood the dynamics and nuances but she thrived and helped us to see the blesssings in moving about and mixing it up. I remember her turning us onto Simon and Garfunkel, Anne Murray, Jesus Christ Superstar and so much more during that incredibly wonderful, yet turbulent time period. Synthia was instrumental in pointing out and giving voice to systemic inequities and disparities. She adopted platform, principle, and purpose even when it was not convenient and or popular. My contact with Synthia after she left Louisville was intermittent. However, we remained family and she continued to lead with her smile. Eternal Peace and Blessings. Gerald Green
