[4] Although several years older, Greene was a classmate, friend, and roommate of Booker T. Washington at Hampton Institute.

Before the turn of the century, Washington instructed Greene to acquire property to develop a village area that would be entirely owned and operated by "Negroes" and demonstrate their capability and establish economic independence.

Following Washington's 1905 visit to Arkansas, Indian Territory and Oklahoma, and his speech in Tulsa suggesting the Tuskegee Greenwood District as an example of what he was recommending, Tulsa named its Negro-owned district Greenwood in 1906.

In 1910, Greene accompanied Washington on his visit to North Carolina (one of five such public tours surveys Washington made from 1908 to 1912 to southern states and Texas), to encourage economic development, independence, self-help, and race pride.

[8] William Henry Holtzclaw also studied under him before moving on to the printing department.