Kristen Green
Journalist Kristen Green ’95 won the Library of Virginia’s 2016 Literary Award for Nonfiction for her book Something Must Be Done About Prince Edward County, which deals with segregation-related school closures and their legacy in her home county.
A press release announcing the award said the judges felt that the book “demonstrates the truth of William Faulkner’s adage that the past isn’t even past – as the perceptions of scarcity, competition, and fear that were employed to justify segregation appear in today’s headlines about schools, resources, and fair treatment.”
Green grew up in Prince Edward County, which closed its schools for five years rather than desegregate. At Mary Washington, she majored in American studies and was an editor on the student newspaper. She earned a master’s degree in public administration from Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.
Green’s book was UMW’s first-year common read in fall 2016. It has been on The New York Times’ education and civil rights best-seller lists and named a New York Times Book Review editors’ choice. It was a Washington Post notable nonfiction selection for 2015 and received several other accolades.