The publication is reproduced in full below:
HONORING DEACONESS EASTER MAE GREEN
______
HON. BARBARA LEE
of california
in the house of representatives
Tuesday, November 30, 2021
Ms. LEE of California. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Deaconess Easter Mae Green and her decades of service in our Bay Area community.
Deaconess Green was born in Waterproof, Louisiana on October 17, 1926. She was one of many African Americans to migrate West from the Jim Crow South, hoping to find a better life for her family. She arrived in the Bay Area in 1952 and began working in Oakland's manufacturing industry, eventually gaining the ability to move her brothers and her mother to California.
Deaconess Green understood the importance of establishing financial stability as a single mother, and thus became an entrepreneur in the Oakland community. She opened Easter's Beauty Salon in East Oakland, which operated for more than 30 years. The salon provided many services to the community and became a strong pathway of entrepreneurship for other female cosmetologists in the Oakland area.
Deaconess Green's good works in the community were truly remarkable. In addition to raising four biological children, she provided a safe and secure home to more than 158 foster children. She became a mentor for other young and single mothers and helped raise scholarship funds for students. Her service was recognized by Alameda County, and she would later publish her reflections in ``The Value of Motherhood'' in the Woman of Color Study Bible in 1999.
Deaconess Green was strongly devoted to faith as a 38-year member of the Allen Temple Baptist Church, where her daughter, Rev. Dr. Jacqueline A. Thompson, now serves as senior pastor. She later became a Deaconess to provide physical and spiritual support to anyone in need.
She lived her life as a reflection of her values--equal opportunity for women, care for children, and protection of the most vulnerable around us. She will be missed.
My deepest condolences and prayers go to her family friends and loved ones, and my great respect and sympathies go to my dear friend and pastor, Reverend Thompson, who was a supportive and loving caregiver of her mother until the very end.
Today, on behalf of California's 13th Congressional District, I commend Deaconess Green for her lifelong work as an entrepreneur, a mentor, and spiritual leader. As she returns to her maker, may this beautiful woman of God, Deaconess Easter Mae Green, rest in peace and power.
____________________
SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 167, No. 206
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