Her mother, who wanted her to go to a good school, was asked if she was Haitian. According to Greene, their premise was that they would be more accepting of a Haitian rather than an African American.
“The school felt that immigrants have a different attitude about education and culture and everything, and the school felt like they were not like typical African Americans, who grew up in this country and were part of the history of enslavement in this country and the Jim Crow laws," Greene revealed. "They felt that Haitians or other immigrants who came here to this country came because they wanted a better life; they believed that these immigrants would not have the same attitude as African Americans who were born in this country."